Heat 3

Oblivion

His arms held he tightly as his head dropped to her shoulder. Her own hands slowly wrapped around him pressing her close to him. 'You have nothing to lose.' She could feel his lips start to kiss her neck.

Her strength evaded her as her head involuntarily moved to give him more access. "I—," her brain scattered for words to say. His hands slowly started traveling down her waist. 'You can return to dancing and live how you once lived.'

"I —," She tried again as she felt his fingers travel lower to her hips. His lips continued to move against her neck sending shivers down her back. 'The loan will be paid off and you'll be his.' Images of last night entered her mind. Her hands moved to grab his own, lacing their fingers together. A shy smile grew on her face before the thoughts of him entered her mind. Moving herself away, she looked away from his alluring look.

"I don't want to smell like throw up."

His facial expression dropped instantly moving his hands away from her own. "You sure know how to ruin a mood."

A sarcastic smile graced her lips, "You're a weak drunk who paid for something you can't handle."

"Alright, fine. But I did all of that for—"

She interrupted him, "For me, yes you've said that already." Walking away from him she walked toward her door, "You have to leave."

"Misa-chin, can I come by later?"

Biting her lip she shook her head, "I don't think its appropriate for a customer to come here."

Kaname shook his head, a wolffish smile showing on his face, "I've got no choice, I seem to misplace my phone." Reaching into his back pocket, he couldn't find his wallet either. "And my wallet."

Misako felt her lip twitch into a smile, "I'll have to bring them to you then Sengoku-san."

"How do you expect me to leave without any money," He mumbled out as he reached out to her, only to have her move away. She moved towards her change box she grabbed a bill. "This should cover a taxi for you."

"I can't accept this."

"Sengoku Kaname, I don't have time for this."

A laugh escaped him, "Then make time for me. Let me freshen up and we can continue where I left off."

The shrill sound of her doorbell distracted her. Her eyes widened, as she turned pushing Kaname towards her room. She threw the bill at him before turning to leave the room, "No matter what you hear, don't come out. Please, don't speak a word."

He could hear her voice strain as she pushed him away. Darkness engulfed him as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He heard her open the door and whine. "Joe-chan! You didn't have to come visit Misa-chin. Misa-chin would have come to Joe-chan."

He felt his breath leave him as he gently opened the bedroom door enough to see her body draped over a large man. Jealousy grew inside him as he saw the burly man had placed his hands on her on waist. "I heard you left with a man Misa-chin, of course I had to come check up on you."

The fake giggle that escaped her made his hands ball. "You're so sweet to me Joe-chan, that's why I love you so much." Misako's hands were tangled in his hair bringing him down to her face level. Kaname edged away from the door, trying to reel in his emotions.

He could not help but wonder who the man was and what he was to Misako. The innocent girl he once knew was completely gone and her actions easily showed that. He had a second of doubt wondering if he could get her away from such a life. He wondered how much money was left from his recent win, and if it would be enough to buy her away from that life.

His hand grazed the bill she threw at him, he wondered, if that man was the reason she lived the way she did. Clenching the paper, he closed his eyes waiting for the man to leave.

Hands gently touched his own making his eyes open to see her own looking back at him. A sad smile grew on her face as she helped him stand.

"Kaname-chan, the hallway should be clear, Joe shouldn't be here anymore." She mumbled facing away from him.

"Misako, who was he?"

She turned her gaze towards his angered ones. "It doesn't matter."

"Misako, please—"

Her eyebrows shifted down, her own anger growing, "You're asking too much from me! You forced yourself back into my life for a few days and you think you own me like they do? I didn't even ask you to help me!" She yelled as her hands balled. "You've always been like this—"

His lips came crashing down on her own silencing her. Her own hand coming up to beat on his chest. He felt a spark of hope enter him as her own lips moved against his. Kaname quickly cupped her face, gently pressing her towards him. Feeling a wetness on his face he pulled back, seeing her eyes overflowing with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kaname quickly moved away from her, feeling the air escape him. "I need to go... yeah, I should go."

He ran a hand through his hair before putting his shoes and leaving.

Misako stood looking towards the door, her unwanted tears falling down her face. Joe had perfect timing even if she had not wanted to have a meeting with him first thing in the morning. Looking down at herself, she could not help but feel like a whore. The two men had a knack at making her feel like that.

Her hands quickly made work of her dirty clothes, throwing them around the room she entered the bathroom turning on the cold water to wash away the grime and the feelings she was feeling. Knowing she would have to face Kaname again made her stomach churn. The cold water calmed her down enough to think about what she had to do. She was unsure if Joe would allow her to switch to another club.

Fighting her tired muscles, she turned the water off. Forgoing her usual soak, she dried off and made her way into her room. Taking a magazine, she laid on her bed, the stale alcohol smell swirled around her. She had been secretly doing her old warm up routine to keep in shape and before knowing it, she would do it for hours on her days off. Her curves were all thanks to the strict regimen her old teacher drilled into her.

His face stared back at her as she saw him on the front of the dancing magazine. His partner, Chizuru stood next to him in perfect synch with his sloping body. Chizuru, a star in her own right with the perfect movements to match the intensity Kaname possessed. A sigh escaped her as she threw the magazine across the room. 'I'll never be able to match him... he's asking too much of me.'

Looking towards her clock she noticed it had been an hour since Kaname had left. Standing from her bed she migrated to get dressed and fix her hair. Letting her blonde locks free she slowly made her way back to the club.

Once entering the club, her manager sauntered over to her with the belongings in a small bag. "Misako, your VIP must have been super drunk. He left his belongings here."

"He didn't realize his limit." She took the bag from the manager, "Thank you for getting it ready, I'll—"

"Misako, remember, don't think a man who is paying for you, is in love with you."

Biting her lip, she looked inside the bag to take his phone and wallet out. Multiple missed calls from Chizuru lined the screen. A crumpled piece of paper fell to the ground, recognizing her handwriting she picked up the paper. The address where he no doubt would be. "He's a childhood friend of mine... I don't think he means anything else..."

"Do you really think he wants you Misako? There are few men who genuinely want damaged goods. I'm telling you this for your own good, too many girls think these men will want them after they finally have them."

"I know..." Taking out her own phone, she typed in the address, "I'll go deliver this to him now."

"Misako, I can't stop you, but remember Joe owns us."

Walking out of the building, Misako felt her anger grow. Shoving the items inside the bag she could not help but continue chewing on her lip in frustration. She knew Joe owned them all, he expressed it and told them every time he saw them. His groping hands and his harassment grew bolder as the years in the club accumulated.

Raising her hand to get a taxi, she clutched the bag tightly in her hands. 'I'll leave the bag with him... If not, then I'll leave it with someone there. There's no need to prolong this anymore than that.'

She thought over the scenario until the car stopped in front of a multi complex building. Paying the taxi, she exited feeling her heart at her throat. The studio appeared to be inside the large building, looking over the crumpled paper, she walked over to the entrance.

"You wasted all- ALL THE PRIZE MONEY ON A HOSTESS?!" A shrill voice startled her as she looked over to an open window of the basement floor. "WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT SENGOKU?!" A slam indicated someone had left the room.

Misako's heart pounded as she realized the situation. Running along the side of the building she found a small alleyway. Another slam made her crouch down in hiding. Leaning over the side of the building, she could see Chizuru in all her angered glory storming out and into the front of the building, Kaname followed her.

"It wasn't all the money Chizuru."

"How am I going to pay for my things now SENGOKU?! I TOLD YOU I WON'T PUT UP WITH IT!"

"I'll figure it out! I'll pay you back your cut as soon as we finish the next competition!"

"MY CUT?! YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST GET A CUT NEXT TIME?!" Chizuru stood; her hands balled. A pregnant pause filled the area. "There won't be another competition. I'm not dealing with this again. You always find her, spend a huge amount of money for her to just disappear on you again! I told you if you did this again, I'll find another partner."

Misako's hands covered her mouth as she braced herself against the wall Kaname had stolen all the winnings each time he would seek her out. A roaring sound passed her by, looking up she saw the tear-streaked face of Chizuru as she drove off on a motorcycle.

"Shit." The quiet voice of Kaname filled the open space. "Shit, shit, shit, shit."

The door opened again, signaling that he entered the building. Guilt filled her as she thought of her past with Kaname. She never thought of how it would impact his life when she ran away. She stood from the hidden area, walking towards the door. Her body felt cold hearing various voices yelling from the window.

"Sengoku-san! You need to go after her!"

"You need to go beg her!"

"You need to have more communication between you both!"

Chizuru's tearstained eyes flashed through her mind. Kaname's wish for a life with her was not possible as long as she was a hostess. Given how much she owed to Joe, she knew, on her own she would never leave that world. Not wanting Kaname to suffer she made up her mind.

A fake practiced smile plastered on her face she took deep breath before knocking and entering the studio. The lights were blinding as she entered. The dense smell of polish and sweat entered her senses as she looked around. She could see three people ganged up on Kaname. He looked tired, which she could tell was from the alcohol and the ordeal he created.

Four faces turned towards her. Ignoring the intense gaze of Kaname, she continued to smile. "Sorry to interrupt, I came to deliver these."

"Misa-chin."

"Misa-chin?! Is she the hostess you spent all the prize money on?!" The larger-than-life woman practically shouted as she faced the petite woman. Edging closer to the door the three made their way to surround her.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Kaname yelled as he grabbed her arm dragging her towards him.

"Why is she here?" The petite sandy haired woman stood with her arms crossed. Her face twisted with irritation. "Chizuru-san just left because of her! This isn't the time! You must go after Chizuru-san!"

"Tama-chan is scary when she's mad." Kaname mumbled out. He looked down at Misako, her own eyes looking back at him. Her discomfort was obvious to him. He gently grabbed her arm leading her towards the stairs.

Misako followed him leaving the trio behind. Standing in outside the building she extended her hand out to him. "I just came to drop off your things, I didn't mean to ruin anything."

Taking the bag he raised his eyebrow questionably, "How much did you hear?"

"All of it. You took Hongo-san's cut."

Kaname let a frustrated sigh escape him. "I did take the money, but I was going to pay her back. Besides, she gets sponsored for all the dresses and shoes and Tama-chan does her hair and her makeup."

A dry laugh escaped her lips. "Kaname-chan, you are always like this. It's not about just her clothes and glam, what about her rent? The plans she had for that money? Does Hongo-san have any other income other than her cut? What if she finds a new partner, what if your partnership dies because of this? I can't have it be because of me Kaname-chan."

She could see she had hit a nerve as he rubbed his neck. He looked away from her.

"Kaname-chan, you have to go after her. You can't keep doing this."

"It's not because of you Misa-chin."

"Well, the three in there seem to think it's because of me."

"It's because I want you. I've said it too many times, all I want is you. Chizuru well... She just needs to cool off." He responded, finally turning to look her in the eye. "Misako, do you feel responsible for this?"

Misako blinked, her face broke into a grin, "No." She recognized where he was heading.

"If you feel any responsibility come dance with me. Be my partner until she comes back."