❣ One ❣

Karasuno House

Scuffling and curses, heavy breathing; all caused by Kageyama's own struggles as he tried to get the ropes off his wrists. Where had they taken him? It had been far from where they'd snatched him up and they'd had to take several different turns to get to where he was now, and on the way, he'd heard the sound of laughing and bottles being smashed, but aside from that, there were no clues as to his current location.

Damn slavers. They probably made deals with some city guards to avoid getting caught. After all, they'd nabbed him in broad daylight. Kageyama let loose a fresh string of curses, wiggling around into a position where he could push himself upright. He still wasn't getting anywhere with the rope, although he'd managed to push the gag out of his mouth with his tongue.

He contemplated shouting for help, but was that a safe thing to do? He still didn't know where he was. For all he knew, they could've dumped him in a cell with a hungry bear. Though that was pretty unlikely, he wasn't willing to gamble with his life. Dammit, if he had been more aware of his surroundings, this never would have happened! One minute, he'd been on his way to the well to fetch water, and the next, they'd smacked him upside the head with something hard and had him bound and gagged before he could fully process what had occurred. His grandfather was probably missing him by now...

Kageyama let out an angered growl and pulled against his restraints again, which only succeeded in cutting his wrists to ribbons. He winced and ceased thrashing around, taking deep, shaky breaths and trying to think through the situation rationally. He had been captured by slavers, didn't know where he was and was blindfolded and tied up. Those were the three facts. Now, what else can you find out?

Taking a deep breath, Kageyama closed his eyes under the blindfold, focusing intently on his other senses. Underneath his palms, he could a smooth wooden surface, and when he scuffed it with his nail, it made a hollow sound. Probably bamboo wood. The smell of burning incense hung in the air, along with the bittersweet scent of cinnamon and rosemary. Definitely an odd mix of smells.

If Kageyama tilted his head to the side and really focused, off in the distance he could hear the sound of a flute, and the beating of a drum, accompanied by a sweet sound, almost like birdsong. What... what is this place?" he murmured allowed, forgetting his no-speaking rule. This was just too weird. Those smells and those sounds... Kageyama couldn't place them.

A faint pattering sound drew his attention then, almost like raindrops. Kageyama tilted his head, confused. "What is that? It's not... raining, is it? No, so then what..." His words trailed off as the sound grew louder and more pronounced. He realized it was footsteps about ten seconds too late, but it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway: He was tied up, after all.

Still, Kageyama stiffened when he heard a door slide open, bracing himself for whatever would happen next. To his great surprise—and relief—the footsteps crossed over to him, pulling the blindfold off his head, allowing him to see once again. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the light—which he hadn't noticed with his eyes covered—and found himself staring up into the concerned face of a boy around his age, maybe a few years older, with tousled silver hair and soft brown eyes—oddly pretty for a boy. "Oh, gosh, are you alright? How long have you been in here?"

Kageyama pushed himself up and eyed the boy warily. "Not long. They just threw me in here a few minutes ago."

The boy let out a relieved breath and smiled at him. "Oh, that's a relief!" Seeming to realize Kageyama's predicament, his eyes widened. "Oh! Let me untie you!" He hurried around to his back, and Kageyama bent over to allow him better access to his bound wrists. "Thanks. But... who are you? And what is this place?"

"I'm Kōshi Sugawara," the boy told him, finishing untying his wrists and moving to his ankles, though Kageyama quickly ushered him away to do it himself after he had introduced himself. Sugawara sat back on his heels and looked at him curiously. "This is Karasuno House. Why did they bring you here, Kageyama?"

"I don't know." Kageyama rubbed at his sore wrists, pushing himself to his feet to look around the room. "Slavers nabbed me on my way to the well and dragged me here." He looked back over at Sugawara, who had stood up as well, shooting him a suspicious look. "What did you say this place was called again? Karasuno House? I've never heard of that before."

"Most people haven't. It caters to a very particular sort," Sugawara said, watching as he turned to the door and tried to open it, though it appeared to be bolted shut from the outside, much to Kageyama's chagrin. "If you're trying to escape that way, it won't work. That door locks from the outside. They think we'll use it to run away."

Kageyama paused, turning to look at him, hands still braced against the door. "What do you mean 'we'? Are there other people here?"

"Yep. And since the slavers dumped you here of all places, I'm guessing you're supposed to join us. You must have caught Ukai or Takeda's eye." His lips pursed in sympathy. "I'm sorry about that."

"Who?" Kageyama squinted at him in confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about? What is this place, exactly?"

"Ah..." The boy scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, in all honesty, it's a bit hard to explain without sounding crude, but... technically we're a call house."

"Heh? A brothel?" Kageyama shot him a disbelieving look. "You can't be serious."

Sugawara laughed awkwardly. "Unfortunately, I'm very serious. Welcome to Karasuno House, Kageyama Tobio."

"This is ridiculous." Kageyama pulled at the collar of his blue silk robe irritably, shooting a glare Sugawara's way. "Why do I have to wear this stupid thing? I don't plan on staying here, I hope you know. I have to get home." After they'd talked, Sugawara had led him out of the room they were in and down a long hallway with the spoken intention of bringing him to 'Ukai and Takeda'. whoever they were. Unfortunately, the boy had also insisted Kageyama wear this dumb robe to quote-on-quote 'blend in'.

"I'm sorry, but the likelihood of you being able to leave here is very low," Sugawara said apologetically, flinching under Kageyama's glare. "I really am sorry, but once you get brought here, you never leave, especially if you were picked by Takeda or Ukai..." His mouth tilted downwards in a sad frown. "That's how it always goes."

"I don't understand this," Kageyama scoffed. "None of this makes any sense. I have a family. The slavers can't just take me and sell me off to some whorehouse. It's illegal. The shogunate will definitely—"

Sugawara cut him off with a harsh look. "What? Bust in here and break you out? They don't care about anyone, especially not us. In fact, they're probably the ones that cut a deal with the slavers and Takeda to get you here in the first place." He sighed and turned to face forward again. "I'm sorry, but that's a slim hope. I'll do all I can to convince Takeda and Ukai to let you go, but..." He shook his head. "I can't promise they'll agree to it. But to have you kidnapped and brought here... it's wrong." Kageyama noticed his fists clench, though they quickly relaxed again, leaving him to wonder if he'd just imagined it.

What exactly was it about life here that had Sugawara so tense? Kageyama was honestly afraid to find out. And the way he spoke about these Takeda and Ukai people... he sounded terrified. How terrible did a person have to be to scare someone that badly? The whole situation was starting to make Kageyama nervous. He had been brought here and against his will and was now being lead into the unknown with no choice but to blindly follow along.

They were in a long hallway now, bordered on either side by sliding paper doors painted with bamboo and other inked patterns. Along these walls sat lines of white rice-paper scrolls, ten in all, and painted on each was a different portrait, each of a different subject. One held the image of a slender girl with hair inked the color of ripe wheat and bright chocolate eyes set in a delicate heart-shaped face; another a willowy boy with hair that spiked like fire and a strangely intense gaze.

In the corner of each of these scrolls was an inked flower, seeming to somehow match the portrayed individual in ways unexplainable through speech but rather understood with sight. Here a spotted lily, there a sprig of white yarrow, so life-like their scents could almost be smelled upon the air.

One, in particular, caught Kageyama's attention, and he paused for a moment to stare at it. A slim figure, a boy, all gentle curves, wrapped in a slip of a kimono with a graceful, arching neck. Spikes of hair sat atop his head like ocean waves, inked an orange that Kageyama had only ever seen rising above the horizon with the sun. The brown eyes seemed to stare at him, full of life despite being a simple painting. In the corner, as there was in all the other paintings, there was a flower the likes of which he had never seen before. It was the same color as the boy's hair, vibrant sunset-orange and spreading out in a ring of delicate petals.

Truly beautiful.

"Are you coming, Kageyama?" Sugawara's voice startled him out of his thought sand Kageyama quickly turned away from the mystifying image and hurried to catch up with him. "Yes, sorry." Even as they moved off down the hallway, the image remained in his mind, and Kageyama couldn't help but wonder who the strange boy was.

Their final destination was at the very center of the collection of linked rooms, and as they approached, Sugawara's demeanor seemed to change, his shoulders taut and head lowered. His tension seemed to waver in the air, infecting Kageyama as they approached the door, which was guarded by two stony-faced men of great height and stature. "We've come to see Ukai and Takeda."

The men didn't hesitate, pulling open the grand doors and allowing Sugawara and Kageyama to pass through before closing them soundly again. The first impression Kageyama grasped of the room was immense wealth. The ceiling was held up by ornate red pillars, and the walls were heavy with vibrant tapestries woven of fine silk in beautiful colors. In the center of the room stood a raised dais upon which a table stood, housing two chairs and two men who sat staring down at them as they entered.

Kageyama felt at once that these two men were not to be messed with. While they didn't look all that threatening in their stature or the way they sat, their eyes were like those of predators, shining and calculating as they silently appraised the two boys. One—a blond man of a more muscular build than his slight, dark-haired companion—spoke first, voice bored but authoritative. "Ah, Sugawara, I see you found the new one."

"About that..." Sugawara started hesitantly. "Why did you bring him here? And off the street at that?"

The blond man's eyes narrowed balefully at the boy, but his voice remained even and controlled as he answered. "His grandfather owes a debt to this establishment. He is old and poor; unable to pay it off and unable to work for us. So this boy, his grandson, will take his place until the money has been returned with interest."

Kageyama let out a disbelieving exhalation. "That's impossible! He would've told me about something like that!" He glared at the man, all caution dissolving as anger overtook him. "Let me return home at once!"

"Listen here, boy." The man stood, and the simple gesture seemed to cast a shadow of fear across Sugawara and, in turn, Kageyama. "You will not speak to me that way in my place of business. Your worthless grandfather gambled away all his time here, and now you're the one that must pay for it. If you want to get angry, fine, but you will stay here, and you will work until the debt has been paid." His eyes shone darkly, almost inhuman in their demeanor. "If not, I'll have to take your grandfather's life instead." His lips curved upwards in a smile that held no humor. "Do we understand each other?"

Kageyama gritted his teeth, fists clenching as he stared at the floor. This was the last place he wanted to be, but... he couldn't just let his grandfather die. He had raised Kageyama after his parents died and was practically a second father to him, not to mention his last living family. And while he had apparently hid this place—and his supposed gambling—from Kageyama, he still loved him. So what else could he do?

The anger flowing out of him, Kageyama's hands relaxed and he weakly raised his head. "Fine..." He sighed heavily and lowered his chin to his chest once more, hands shaking, feeling as if he had been defeated. "I'll do it."

A/N: Gaaaahhh, I finally got this out! ε-(´・｀) I've been wanting to get this first chapter out for the longest time but I couldn't seem to find any inspiration to write for it, but I read this book and it kinda spurred my creative flow so I was finally able to finish it~ o(*ω*)o I hope you guys all like it because I worked hard on it. And as always, follow and favorite if you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to leave comments, corrections, and suggestions down in the review section to help me improve (^-^*)ノ