Next Door

Chapter 5: Trickster

She couldn't see anything in the pitch black room; her eyes straining in the darkness to find just the faintest amount of light. Afraid to move, Risa remained in her spot shaking to the point where her glasses almost fell off the poor girl's face. Her breath was shaky and becoming more shallow by the second.

"S-Sesshoumaru?" Risa called nervously.

She heard two claps before the lights came on, though just as dim as the front portion of the club. Judging from the outside, one would never have guessed that the inside of this posh room was so large. Risa turned her attention to the lounging Sesshoumaru whom was sitting comfortably on a leather cushioned chair with a devious smirk on his face. He extended his hand and motioned for Risa to step closer. When she was within arm's reach, the demon was swiftly on his feet and he scooped up the shy woman; his right hand grappling her left, and his own left hand rested on her waist.

Risa made a face of pure confusion as the man before her began swaying her left and right to the beat of the music playing in the background. Leaning in toward her ear, Sesshoumaru pulled her against his form as he whispered to her.

"You aren't like most women I've encountered; so trusting, so innocent and full of love. Not one perverse or terrible thought has crossed that angelic mind of yours, has it?"

Risa felt herself tense; she didn't know why, he was only asking her simple questions. At least she thought they were simple. Risa slowly shook her head in the negative before he let go to spin her around in one fluid motion and pull her back into place. Where in the hell did he learn to dance like that? The brunette figured that would be a question to be answered on a later date for now; she had to figure out what Sesshoumaru's intentions were for bringing her here.

As the two were gliding from side to side, Risa noticed he was dancing them closer and closer to the seat of an extremely large couch. She cracked a nervous smile at him before taking a huge side step away from the sofa and releasing his hands to spin in place.

After executing her dance move, although not as graceful as she hoped for, Risa curtsied, prompting Sesshoumaru to reluctantly bow.

He knew what she was up to, and unfortunately she caught on to his little schemes as well. Well, at least not all of his schemes. Fine, she wanted to play these games, he'll participate. The demon would just have to be the better player; he hated losing. Sesshoumaru extended his hand for her to take, feigning an ironically innocent expression in an attempt to gain her trust. As expected she hesitated on placing her hand in his, but she eventually gave in to his 'charm' only to find that he would merely plant a gentleman's kiss upon the backside. Standing upright once more, Sesshoumaru pulled Risa along to the small bar which was sitting in the corner of the room. As the woman took her seat, she saw that an outline of a door was next to the bar counter. She wondered where it leads to, but decided not to question him. Instead Risa propped her chin on an open palm and watched her 'date' make her a drink.

"Here, drink this." He softly commanded as the glass slid in her direction.

Risa's green eyes darted from him to the tiny bar glass filled with a transparent liquid that was the color of red. She picked it up, but before she indulged in the drink, the brunette shot him a look of disapproval.

"I'm 19. I can't drink this yet…"

Sesshoumaru chuckled and leaned down so he was eye-level with the woman, "Who said I was giving my lovely date alcohol? This," He tapped on the glass, "is my new version of a Sherley Temple. No alcohol, but all the satisfaction of a strong drink."

Gold eyes never wavered from her questioning green irises as Risa contemplated on either taking the shot or giving it back. From her understanding and countless hours of reading, she knew that demons were notorious tricksters and yet…

"It's alright," She finally heard him speak; "I know it's a bit difficult for one such as you to believe the words that come from my mouth. But, I was hoping I could get you to taste this new concoction that I've been working on for some time now. I think that I have it perfected, but an inventor's opinion isn't very credible." He blinked slowly then readjusted his gaze back to her. "However, the opinion of another is far more valuable. So may I ask once more, that you taste this drink for me?"

Risa snapped her focus to the red tinted beverage in her hand, the liquid swishing around from her shaky movements. Without further debate, but with heavy reluctance, Risa brought the edge of her glass to her lips and sipped. Her eyes suddenly shot open from the shock. The drink was absolutely amazing! She continued to guzzle down her shot and before she knew it, the woman was asking for another drink. Then another. And then another. After a few more rounds of the wondrous drink, Risa suddenly began to feel woozy. Her stomach was churning like mad and her eyesight was fuzzing up every few seconds. What was this weird sensation?

Removing herself from the bar stool, Risa nearly fell flat to the floor as she found that her balance was off. The blurriness in her eyes was getting worse, and no amount of tries in adjusting her glasses would fix it. She grabbed onto the seat of the stool and then turned to look at a slyly grinning Sesshoumaru with betrayed emerald eyes.

"You… said… that… there was… no… al… co-"

Landing with a hard thud, the demon behind the bar changed his grin to a sinister smile. As he walked from behind his counter, Sesshoumaru went to a framed picture hanging next to the hidden door Risa was staring at moments earlier and moved it to the side. A fingerprint scanner was revealed. Placing his index finger in the appropriate area, the tiny machine scanned over his print before beeping in approval. The hidden door slid open and Sesshoumaru turned his attention to the unconscious Risa lying near motionless on his floor. As he strode to her location, the demon laughed lowly then picked up her body to carry her into what looked to be an underground cavern.

"Silly girl," he began as he started on his path, "A couple of sleeping pills can do what alcohol cannot; incapacitate without fear of discomfort and a disgusting mess…"

…

Outside the small room, Kagura stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. She hated waiting for Sesshoumaru to come out and give further instructions, but in his defense, she did follow him without his knowledge. Wanting to make a bit of conversation, she turned to the bouncer who was standing ever so still with his arms crossed and a steady gaze overlooking the V.I.P. area.

"So how do you like working for our boss?" She asked.

Silence.

"… You think he'll give us a bigger cut on the deal money?"

Silence once more.

"Hmph! I swear all you stupid buffoons do is stand around like lifeless puppets!"

"It's called 'doing my job', unlike you." The bouncer finally replied. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be waitressing in the other part of the club?"

Before Kagura could answer, the door behind them opened revealing Sesshoumaru. His amber orbs rested on his female subordinate, "I was just about to send for you. Close up the club and get ready for tonight. Have everything prepare when I get back. My 'real' customers will be showing up in the next hour."

As Sesshoumaru turned around to go back inside his room, Kagura smirked at the bouncer in a mocking manner before setting out to clear out Skinz. However, she did have to wonder where he was going. It wasn't like the boss to go out on unexpected errands so close to opening up shop.

'Interesting…' The woman thought to herself.

…

Miki sat on the couch in the now half-filled living room of the house. While her sister was out on a hot date, she stayed home and helped the parental units carry all the heavy ass furniture in the house. Thinking about her sore arms and legs, Miki huffed with a slight pout on her bottom lip before sighing to let go of her anger. In the midst of her jealousy that Risa obtained a date with their hot new neighbor, the younger Kuro couldn't help but feel a pang of worry slip through her body. It was now going on seven-thirty in the evening and Risa only left to meet up for lunch. Just lunch! Where the in the hell was she? With her parents out for the night as well, Miki was forced to stay at home and wait up for her sister.

'Maybe I'm overreacting… she is nineteen after all, she's allowed to stay out however long she desires to…' She thought in reassurance.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw her cell phone. Turning to it, Miki picked up the small device and tapped on the arrow buttons to scroll down to Risa's number. She then began typing in a message asking her when she would be home.

'Well it never hurts to check up on my sister…' She thought. But just after hitting the 'send' button, the doorbell rang.

Miki just up in slight panic, startled by the loud chiming that interrupted the silence within the house. She willed her sore legs to move her from the couch and walk across the living room toward the foyer where the grand front door awaited her. The young Kuro pushed open the small curtain covering the window next to the door and peeked outside. She nearly jumped with glee as she saw the faces of Sesshoumaru and Risa, but her excitement would have to wait as she saw that her sister was her date's arms; her body limp and motionless.

"Good evening Mr. Hiro… what's wrong with Risa?" Miki asked with a worried expression on her face.

"No need to fret. Your sister was extremely tired coming back from town after our dancing date."

Miki, confused, scrunched her eyebrows as she narrowed her eyes at the demon. "Dancing? I thought it was just a lunch date?"

"Yes, it was. But since we were having such a great time at the restaurant, I figured I could flesh out the date a little longer. So I took her dancing. I also took the liberty of bringing her car back, so she need not worry about transportation. Now, where is her room so I can lie her down for the night?"

Miki kept a questioning look on her face for a moment longer before finally relenting on her interrogation. She led him through the house, up the stairs, and down the hallway to Risa's room. As she opened the door, Miki could hear mumblings from her older sister, but could barely make out what she was saying.

'At least she's conscious…Somewhat.' Miki thought as she watched Sesshoumaru set Risa on her mattress.

"Thank young Miss." The man before her said.

"No problem." Miki replied.

Once Sesshoumaru was escorted out of the house, Miki closed the door and locked up the house for the night. She showered up and brushed her teeth before going to check in on her older sister once more. Risa looked peaceful sleeping, but there was something about the whole situation that didn't add up. If knew her sister well – and she indeed did – then Miki would know that Risa wasn't the type to go out to clubs and such. She was too much of a bookworm to take part in that type of activity, and Miki doubt that Sesshoumaru was a one man miracle worker.

But seeing that Risa didn't look hurt or discomforted, Miki figured that maybe she was worrying too much and decided to finally get some rest.

'Who knows?' Miki thought, 'Maybe he's bringing out a side of Risa that the family needs to see. I am always griping about how she needs to get out more.'