Viktor padded quietly back to the room he had stayed in so as not to awake the other inhabitants of the brothel. Two folded kimonos were stacked in his arms. He had been given several of them when he had become a member of the House of Ill Fame. Most of them were torn in suggestive spots, which made sense considering that they were secondhand. He didn't technically own them, he was only borrowing them, but it still felt nice to have some variety to choose from. Still, he didn't feel like he deserved such a luxury. He was just a disgusting little slave, so desperate that he was willing to sell his virginity for food and board.
The only skill that Viktor had, playing the harp, was null and void now that he was missing his right index finger. He smiled bitterly. It wasn't enough to kick him out onto the streets, they had to render him useless and incapacitate him. Thinking about it made the stump seem to throb more intensely with pain. At least the other yuujo had crudely bound it up to prevent furthethe bleeding. Infection though? There was nothing that this poor fairy brothel could afford to remedy that. He only hoped that he wouldn't lose the rest of his hand when it set in.
Surprisingly, Viktor wasn't that upset about it. In fact, he felt nothing. Disassociating himself from reality seemed to make everything not matter anymore. Hell, he could die tomorrow, and nobody would even care. Wait, he had to take that back. The owner of the brothel would care, because she would lose money. They'd dump his body off at the nage-komi-dera and that would be the end of it.
Smiling wryly, Viktor moved aside the curtain blocking the room he had used the night before. The Asian man was sitting up, eyes alert and a determined look on his face.
"Viktor!" he blurted out. "I would like to buy you!" The fairy's mouth opened a bit, eyes wide, and he almost dropped the clothes. He quickly regained his composure and smiled politely. This had to be a joke or something.
"Why?" That question felt like lead on his tongue. Why would a human that was practically a stranger care?
"Because," the human gulped, "I simply cannot leave you here in this awful place." A shake had slipped into his voice as his self-confidence began to slip.
Truthfully, Viktor wanted nothing more than to leave this brothel with the beautiful man that had captivated him. But he could not allow himself to be that straight-forward, and so he bowed his head submissively.
"If that is what you wish, sir." He lifted his eyes for a second to peek at the other man. He seemed concerned and confused, presumably because of the fairy's slavishness.
"Let us change our clothes, and then I will escort you to the headmistress' office."
Viktor set an indigo kimono onto the bed. It was rather flamboyant, although it was worn thin in some sections. It enveloped a neatly folded nagajuban, which used to be white but was now a faded gray. A striped datejime was also within the kimono, and it looked as if it had been ripped and then stitched back together again. A wide orange obi and yellow obijime were wrapped around all of the garments, keeping them in a bundle. A tama kanzashi pin with a marigold colored ball was tucked into it.
The dark-haired man looked at the clothing quizzically.
"It's for you, if you want to wear it," Viktor explained.
"Oh." The human bit his lip. "Um… If you don't mind, could I stay in my own clothes?" He looked uncomfortable. It was almost laughable, a high-class person asking a slave for permission to do something. The fairy lowered his eyes.
"Whatever pleases you." He then placed his own kimono pieces onto the crimson covers and began stripping, careful to face away from the other man.
The Asian man let out an adorable little squeak.
"Wha-what are you doing?" Viktor looked over his shoulder, puzzled, when he heard that.
"Getting dressed, sir." Oh no, was that too forward? What if he misinterpreted it for flippancy?
"Oh, sorry.." Was that.. embarrassment? The fairy smiled softly to himself; he had thought that his intentions had been clear. Viktor untied his obijime and then slipped off his sash and the outer layer of the kimono. Next came the datejime and then finally the nagajuban. Higher ranking courtesans had many more layers than this, some over twelve.
Viktor was left wearing only his drawers, corset, and lacy stockings that had a sewn split for the big toe like tabi socks. He hadn't bothered to locate any clean ones, so they would have to do for the time being. His ribs absolutely ached. He'd been so foolish as to leave on his corset overnight, and his muscles were cramping badly. He wished nothing more than to unlace it and free himself, but he supposed that he had to keep up appearances. Carefully, the fairy pulled on a white kimono featuring exotic embroidered black-crowned cranes, moving his delicate wings through the designated slits. Keeping his right hand wrapped in his sleeve, he shakily and sloppily wrapped the scarlet obi around his waist and knotted the gold obijime cord.
He then drew his hair out from under his clothing. He hadn't undone the braids yet, and it was dreadfully tangled. Ah, he would fix it later. He ran his hands through a couple times to remove the largest snarls, cautious to not hit any of the tiny plaits. That was a problem for another time. His hair was so fine that many of the knots slipped out easily. Finally, he tied a long red ribbon around all of it to make a tail. His face felt sticky from the makeup that he hadn't washed off from the previous night, and he was sure he looked awful.
Viktor turned back to face the dark-haired man, whose red face was buried in his hands. The fairy gave a rare genuine smile; he couldn't help it, the human was just so endearing.
"I'm done," he announced. The other man looked up, and his mouth fell open just slightly. His russet eyes widened and his blush deepened. Overall, he seemed… What was the right word? Viktor tapped his chin gently with his left pointer finger. Oh! Entranced. The effect the he had on other people was rather amusing, although he failed to understand it.
"Shall we go?" Viktor offered, tilting his head. The Asian man was silent for several seconds, blinking slowly.
"Huh? What?" he asked when he returned to reality. The fairy repeated himself, smiling.
"Oh yes, of course," the bespectacled man stammered. He stood up, looked down, and hastily buttoned up his vest and shirt. Viktor moved aside the curtain for him, then began guiding him in the direction (he thought) the headmistress' room was.
The pair walked down the creaky hallway and took a left. They passed by the fairy that had been auctioned off before Viktor; his fair skin had a myriad of colorful bruises on it. There was a single tear track down his stony face.
"A-Are you okay?" Viktor's companion questioned anxiously. All he received in response was an icy glare, and he looked taken aback.
"Don't worry about it," Viktor quickly assured. "I don't know Seung Gil very well, but he acts like that to everyone." He then added softly, "He's been through a lot. I heard that he had to sell himself to help his family."
"Oh." The human's face was plaintive.
"Don't be sad," the fairy told him, struggling to smile. "At least he has food and shelter here." The Asian man looked as if he were about to start crying or throwing up.
They rounded a corner and stopped in front of a room with a pink curtain blocking the doorway. Viktor put on his most convincing happy face, and saw that the human was shaking nervously beside him. He stretched out a kimono-wrapped hand and moved the curtain open. A scream filled his ears, and he watched in quiet shock as two naked men scrambled to cover themselves. Gently, he moved the pulled the fabric door back over the entryway. He turned back to the dark-haired man, finger on his chin.
"I could have sworn that was the right room." You couldn't really blame him, right? After all, he'd only been there a couple of days. The human looked mildly traumatized. "Oh well, let's keep looking." The fairy resumed his stride, and the other man followed after a moment of surprise-induced paralysis.
They continued down the corridors, and Viktor realized that he could not for the life of him remember which room belonged to the headmistress.
"I wonder where she is," he thought aloud. "Oh, Michele!" he tugged on the lilac sleeve of a passing fairy that had a sour, melancholy express on his face.
"What?" he asked tiredly and blankly. His royal-blue wings were drooping like wilted irises. Poor lad. Viktor had been told that he had been very close with his sister, and that they had been separated. The other fairy's lengthy chestnut hair was just as messy as his was.
"Well, I can't seem to recall which room is the headmistress'." Viktor cocked his head. "Do you know?" Michele gave him an incredulous look, even though the bags under his violet eyes indicated exhaustion.
"It's the really fancy one with the golden curtain and the lights strung over the door…" He seemed confused as to how Viktor had managed to disremember that.
"Oh, thank you!" The silver-haired fairy gave a cheerful smile, waved, and then began to move away. "There it is!"
At the end of the hall was doorway obscured by a golden silk curtain decorated with curling leaf designs. Man, Viktor hadn't even gotten the color right. It was made of real silk, not the imitation fabric that his kimonos were roughly crafted out of. Above the doorframe were authentic electric lights, which were rare in this part of the city. They were so tiny, and shone out of miniature paper lanterns. Preparing himself once more, he drew the curtain open. The material was so soft that he could feel it from within his sleeve. He allowed the dark-haired man to enter first, his eyes lowered respectfully. He then closed the curtain once more for privacy.
(yuujo- prostitute or whore
nage-komi-dera- a temple where the bodies of whores were dumped
nagajuban- a slip-like garment under the kimono
datejime- a sash that ties the nagajuban
obi-a wide sash around the kimono
obijime- a cord that holds the obi in place
tabi- socks with an indent between the big toe and the rest of the toes, meant for when one us wearing sandals
Hope you like this! :D More real soon.)