The place was clean and smelt like disinfectant, the beds in the upper rooms having been cleaned and made up by the staff. Thankfully, there were only about three rooms available in the building that had been fixed up.
Standing in the center hall of the modest two story building he'd bought, Lupin let out a whistle and then turned to the three sat by the couch against the wall, arms out as he gestured to the soon-to-be Love Hotel. "Ta-da~! What do you all think?" Lupin asked with an eager smile, waiting a moment and realizing the looks he had directed at him ranged from distant with Goemon to pissed off with Fujiko.
"Ara… none of you look at all excited…"
"Why would we be, Lupin?" Fujiko frowned, arms folded over her chest "You've signed us up to be prostitutes! I… I can't believe this."
Lupin sighed "But you all agreed to it; I even splurged and promised you things you like! Isn't that enough? PLUS you're getting the entirety of MY revenue for the first month!" he said, frustrated as he gestured around before folding his arms similarly to Fujiko.
"We only agreed because of the loyalty we swore to you," Goemon added in, leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "It pains me to go against my morals for money."
Seeing two out of three angry at him, he looked to Jigen sat in the middle of the two as if to plead for somebody - anybody - to side with him. After a moment of tapping his foot against the tile floor, Jigen let out an exasperated sigh and looked up at Lupin. "Lupin, it's not so much that you're buying us out with sake and scotch and jewels, it's the fact you couldn't even hire any actual prostitutes to work for you," he said, and Lupin looked pained.
He felt like everybody was against him at this point, and frankly, they were. "What could I possibly offer that would make you all stop with the folded arms and glares and go along with this?" Lupin asked, somewhat desperate to win his friends over with his proposition. "The place is already bought out and I'm set to open tomorrow night!"
The three shared a look between them before all sharing a similar smirk, looking back to face Lupin who felt a nervous shiver down his spine, feeling like what they were going to suggest wasn't something pleasant.
"Alright Lupin, we'll play your game and agree to this… on a few conditions. We get the month's pay, the scotch and wine and jewels you promised each of us…" Fujiko began, her smirk widening the more she spoke.
"Yes?! Yes! Spit it out Fuji-cakes! What is it?" Lupin sputtered out.
"... and for the final condition, we ask that while we work as the prostitutes here… YOU also do the prostitute work just as we do."
Lupin froze for a moment before his mind caught up with him and he let out an abhorrent noise of shock. "W-whaat?! You… you want ME to be a prostitute too?" he questioned in pure confusion, looking as stunned as ever.
Goemon nodded "If we must suffer, so must YOU Lupin. It's only fair. Or should we back out?" he asked, smirk still on his lips.
"Yep, sounds fair. What do you say Lupin? You prepared to man-up and be a whore like the rest of us? It's YOUR idea anyway, and since when would you turn down such a rousing 'business venture'?" Jigen smirked, snickering a little as he finished his sentence.
Lupin had a suspicion that something like this would happen, but he had foolishly assumed his friends wouldn't pull the rug out from under him like that. At least not so soon. He moped and groaned "A-ah fine, fine! FINE! I'll be a whore too, hmmph!" he said, folding his arms and turning to face away from them in a huff.
He could hear them all snickering behind his back, scrunched up his nose at the whole situation. Not wanting to stand it, he let out a groan. "Alright alright, quieten down you schoolchildren! The rooms are assigned to each of you!" he said, waiting until it was quiet to continue. "Fuji-cakes, you're on the first room A1. Goemon, you're on room A2 and Jigen is on the third room. Take a guess which one that is."
Clearing his throat, he continued. "You'll all need to be showered and well groomed before any business with clients, you'll need to shower afterwards as well… hm… what else. Oh yes! And make sure to provide the best service you can to our clients if you want those tips! Heh… well, cash tips," he smirked, turning on his heel and walking up the flight of stairs leading up to the second floor, heading to the office and heading inside.
"So we're really doing this?" Fujiko asked in disbelief, smirking. Jigen shrugged "I guess so. The pay better be amazing. So you gonna write up a list of things you're not gonna do with the clients? I think we should all do that," he suggested, Goemon nodding and blushing as he thought about the boundaries he'd set.
"I think I'm not gonna go for stuff like knives or candles or anything that'll leave me bleeding or with scars, definitely no piss play or anything like that," Jigen said, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag from it before exhaling the smoke. Out the corner of his eye, the gunman noticed Goemon's warm cheeks as the pink blush stood out greatly against his fair Asian skin.
"Everything alright there, Goemon?" Jigen asked, raising a brow "You look a bit flushed."
"I-I'm fine, just… this kind of situation doesn't come up enough for me to be used to it."
"Awhh, he's shy. I bet he's still *untouched*," Fujiko teased, getting the reaction she expected with a glare from Goemon, his blush growing more prominent across his cheekbones and bridge of his nose. "That's none of your business."
Jigen chuckled "It kind of is now, ironically. Maybe you should tell Lupin you haven't slept with somebody before and maybe you could really sit this one out," he said "Though who knows what Lupin will do with the news."
"What news?"
They all glanced up to see Lupin coming back down the stairs with something in his arms; a box of some sort, paused to see what they were talking about. Goemon tensed and glanced away, frowning and not wanting to speak about his lack of sexual encounters to *Lupin* of all people.
Jigen glanced to the samurai as if to prompt him to speak, to which he remained quiet and stoic. As expected. "Goemon, you're going to have to tell him or we will," Fujiko stated, Goemon looking a tad panicked before gathering himself and letting out a sharp exhale with an unimpressed scowl. "Fine. Tell him."
"Tell me what? Seriously guys, it's killing me not knowing!" Lupin whined.
"Lupin, Goemon here isn't exactly *experienced* with this line of work," Jigen said, Lupin blinking in confusion before glancing to the blushing Samurai and then back to Jigen, shrugging "Neither are any of us, but still. Is that the big news? That he's nervous?" Lupin asked, a bit disappointed that the 'news' was something so trivial.
"No, Lupin, it isn't. The 'news' is that I'm… *virgin*," Goemon said, saying the last word with the same tone you'd use to begrudgingly admit you broke something or took the last piece of cake and were feeling guilt-ridden about it.
Lupin's eyes shot open and he looked stunned, glancing the swordsman up and down before cracking a smirk and having his eyes glitter with a devious plan. "Ohh I see, how adorable~! Goemon the pure innocent virgi-aeeee!" Lupin began, cut off by the feeling of Zantetsuken's tip pressed under his chin in a not-so-subtle way of telling him to shut up.
Sweat rolled down his brow and he laughed nervously "Ahh ok ok, I'll be quiet!"
He only let out a breath of relief when he heard the sheath *click* shut, clearing his throat and beginning to think. Stroking his chin, he immediately began to formulate an idea revolving around Goemon's revelation, eyes lighting up with a grin on his lips. "I've got it! The perfect plan for opening night!" he announced, sounding sure of himself.
"And what would that be, Lupin dear?" Fujiko asked, raising a brow, half tempted to ask what was in the box he held.
Lupin laughed deviously "Simple! We capitalize on our dear Goemon's virginity by having an AUCTION on opening night! Whoever bids the most wins the grand prize of deflowering our dear resident swordsman! What do you think? We've got the once in a lifetime chance here, and imagine how much people would pay for the honor of it!" he grinned, the euro signs practically gleaming in his eyes as he stood there snickering.
"Lupin, are you not even going to ask me if I want to go along with this?" Goemon frowned, a twinge of embarrassment to his angered tone. "Who are you to decide how my first experience will be handled?"
Lupin paled and tried to compose himself "Ah but think of the money Goemon-chan, think of how much we'll make! Tell you what, you'll get sixty percent of whatever we get from the auction… would that make up for it?" he asked, leaning forward with a grin. He felt a soft gust of air pass by his cheek, then a click, and the box in his hands fell to pieces like an explosion of cardboard and fabric.
The contents of the box had spilled out everywhere, showing silk lingerie, stockings and various other kinky outfits you'd expect to see on prostitutes. When Lupin looked up from the mostly intact outfits to the wall, Goemon had vanished out the door. Without a word, Jigen got up and brisky walked after the mortified samurai, following him out to the railed terrace out the back of the building.
The few plant pots sat by the steps had long given up supporting the life within them, the daisies wilted and dead and not even a weed or two dared grow in the soil. It went to show how neglected the building had been up until it was purchased by one gentleman thief.
Jigen stopped a few steps out into the brick terrace, seeing Goemon stood by the railing overlooking some of the city itself and the countryside in the far distance. There was a soft, somewhat sweet breeze in the air that gently swayed Goemon's ebony dark hair and hakama as he stood there, still as a statue.
"Goemon…" Jigen began, a noticeable concern to his tone as he spoke "... are…"
Goemon tensed visibly and he turned his head to give a soft glare to Jigen, though not one poisoned with anger, one of… conflicted emotion and mild infuriation not directed at him specifically. No doubt directed at Lupin.
"I'm fine. I wish to be alone."
"I'm afraid I can't just leave you by yourself, Goemon. You're shaken up and I won't sit by and let you feel that way. Talk to me, what do you want me to do? I can try to talk to Lupin but-"
"He's a child," Goemon snapped, turning to face Jigen with a fiery look in his eyes. "You can talk and beg and nag all you wish, but you'd be wasting your breath. He won't listen, he's stubborn and you'd be better staying quiet. What choice do I have."
Jigen, hands dug into his pockets and hat brim shading his eyes dark with thought, strode forward and to the railing overlooking the city. Goemon, wordlessly, turned to see the view that the gunman saw, a silent understanding between them that words couldn't ever hope to achieve. That was what the two enjoyed so much about working together; the peace and quiet of them by themselves, able to work with so little as a glance and trust between them.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Jigen let his head tilt back a bit to let the sunlight warm his face. It also gave a window of opportunity for Goemon to see the gunman under the brim of his fedora, seeing the scar running underneath his left eye and the way his beard shaped his jawline perfectly, giving him such a rugged and foreign beauty… at least to Goemon.
"You have a lot of choices, actually. You could leave. Nothing's stopping you from just turning on your heel and making your way out of here. I bet the gardens downtown are really quiet this time of day, it'd make for a great meditation spot eh?" Jigen piped up, making Goemon tear his eyes away from the older man, looking out onto the skyline once more.
"I'd be abandoning Lupin and the rest of you. I couldn't do that."
"But are you really willing to let Lupin dictate how and when you get 'deflowered'?"
The samurai furrowed his brow slightly, closing his eyes in thought before looking back to Jigen with a hint of curiosity in those dark almost burnt oak coloured eyes of his. "He may think he's in charge of who and when and where it's lost, but if I *give* it away before then… who's he to say where it goes?" Goemon said with a soft smirk, surprising Jigen.
The gunman's mouth was agape a tad, almost allowing the cigarette softly clutched between his lips to fall. Almost. "You… you're going to give it away just… wow. Clever. If you give it away before the auction tomorrow, then he can't even hold the auction…" Jigen said with a grin, tipping his hat a bit and chuckling a deep chuckle. "Devious, if I do say so myself."
The jovial tone faded somewhat, Jigen pausing to scratch his head "But… who might I ask are you going to give it *to*?"
Goemon's cheeks warmed and he glanced away, his grip on Zantetsuken's hilt tightening somewhat. "Someone I trust. Someone who would treat me and my body with respect and care, and would not gloat about it like Lupin would. Someone who would treat it like the intimate moment between two lovers that it is."
Jigen couldn't even begin to understand why his heart was pounding in his chest like someone slamming their fists on the doors of a church to beg for sanctuary, nor why he'd become somewhat short of breath. He knew it wasn't the cigarette's work, that's for sure. It was then up to him to figure out why his palms had become sweaty, though with the situation at hand, he could tell what the explanation was… it was just one he didn't know if he wanted to hear.
Turning and looking back into the soon-to-be Love Hotel, Goemon spared a glance to Jigen who stood there, eyes wide and locked onto the samurai. He closed his eyes before continuing on, walking into the building yet lingering at the doorway, his hakama still swaying in the slight sweet breeze.
"Daisuke…"
Jigen's breath caught in his throat and he almost inhaled his cigarette, the way his name was uttered in that deep yet strangely beautiful voice just making his head spin. "Mmm?" he grunted, unable to speak coherently - not with the way his name was spoken.
Goemon remained turned away from him, blade gripped in one hand relaxedly, his stance calm yet determined.
"I trust you."
With that, the samurai was gone, vanished into the building with Jigen stood there on the terrace, barely able to comprehend what had happened.
'Fuck.'