Good evening everybody!

Here's chapter 2, enjoy!

My wonderful beta is beposbutt. *kisses*

Some Japanese words are kept intact to preserve the flavour of the story. Translations are provided at the bottom of the page.

Colours of Love

Chapter 2: ~Sapphire~

One week had passed by since my strange encounter with that man, Eustass Kid. Business went on as usual, and I spent my nights as I normally did; with the numerous men who purchased my company.

However, my thoughts kept returning to the redhead. It was puzzling, since we'd done nothing but talk that night.

Today was no different. I sat behind the harimise and watched the crowd passing along the street outside. Ace was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed his patron wasn't available to come tonight.

As the sun began to set, the streets got more crowded as customers started pouring into the pleasure quarters. Their excitement and curiosity was a vast contrast to my dampened spirits; I just wasn't in the mood tonight.

Then again, when was I ever in the mood? With a sigh, I backed away from the harimise and returned to my suite.

Every male prostitute in our establishment had their own personal quarters, where we resided during the day and received our customers at night. Each suite was equipped with a bathroom and attached toilet, not for our comfort, but for our customers to freshen up before they left.

The suites all differed in terms of size and quality, and we were assigned rooms based on our popularity rankings. As I was considered one of the more sought-after prostitutes, my suite reflected that status. The main room was about ten tatami mats large, not including the attached bathroom and toilet. There was a sliding screen door at the back of the main room, which led into a small enclosed balcony with large shoji windows opening outside. Ace was of a similar standing, so his suite largely mirrored my own.

I'd heard that the more popular prostitutes had suites with more than a single room. The others also liked to gossip about the suite of the most expensive and popular courtesan in our mansion, who allegedly had the largest living quarters of all, with gold-leaf folding screens, luxurious furniture, and even an open-air hot spring bath provided for his leisure.

Lastly, each room came with a denden mushi for us to communicate with reception.

My denden mushi was ringing when I returned to my suite. I hurried to pick up the call.

"...This is Suite 16, Trafalgar speaking. What is it?"

"A customer has put in a request for you; a 90-minute course, no extra options."

"Alright. Send him up."

I hung up the denden mushi and moved to kneel behind the sliding door leading to the corridor, and waited for my customer to enter. After a brief moment, the door slid open and a familiar voice called out.

"Yo, Trafalgar."

"What...?! Eustass-ya?!"

Why was he here? Why had he come again?

Eustass-ya must have noted the confusion on my face, as he hurriedly went on to explain how he had been dragged here again by his superiors.

"The reception was recommending me some other guy... But I decided to come back to you afterall."

"...Why?"

"Well, I'm not here to have sex anyway. And I did enjoy myself the last time we were together."

"Oh, thank you..."

"So yeah, I was wondering if we could do that again?"

Yes, this was real. Eustass-ya was here again. I was so sure I would never see him a second time; yet here he was.

And he had asked for me.

XxXxXxX

As with our first meeting, we ended up chatting gaily about everything, and the alloted time flew by. With Eustass-ya, the tedium of my everyday life seemed to fade away, replaced by a light, easy feeling of what felt like happiness.

The ringing denden mushi cut into our conversation; it was the reception's reminder that we had ten minutes left.

"Wow, that's fast," Eustass-ya commented.

There was something which had been bothering me, and I took the lull in conversation as a chance to raise the issue.

"Eustass-ya, well, have you..."

I blushed, suddenly too embarrassed to finish my sentence.

"What is it?"

Eustass-ya's gentle, coaxing voice gave me the courage to continue.

"Have you ever... thought about having sex with me...?"

There, I'd said it, knowing full well that Eustass-ya had made it clear that he had no interest in men. I wondered if he would be offended by my question.

But no, I assured myself. As a prostitute, it was my right to ask. Sex was the main service I was paid to provide, afterall.

For a while, Eustass-ya did not reply, and silence fell between us.

"...No offence, but I don't intend to have sex with you..."

"Oh... It's alright, I was just curious."

I knew it.

At that moment, I felt truly hurt. It wasn't as if I liked what I did for a living. I mean, who actually enjoyed selling their body to others for pleasure? But his answer had nevertheless injured my pride.

I'd been working in this establishment for many years, and I knew for a fact that every man I'd served thus far had all lusted after me. This was literally the first time anyone had told me that they held no desire for my body. A foreign sense of distress stung my heart.

After a pause, Eustass-ya spoke up again.

"But when I first saw you through the harimise, you caught my eye. I thought that you were really beautiful. Erm, not saying that you're like a woman or anything, but you're just...beautiful."

"...But you averted your eyes when I saw you!" I countered, flustered by the sudden sentimental confession.

"Well, it's because you're too beautiful, so I couldn't look at you!"

I felt my face burning, and could only guess at how pathetic I must look right now. I sneaked a glance at Eustass-ya to find that he was blushing as well, his face as scarlet as his hair.

"Erm... If I ever come here with my superiors again... Can I ask for you?"

"Huh?"

"I-I understand if it's not possible! I mean, if you're not ok with it..."

"...It's alright. I do enjoy chatting with you."

At that moment, the denden mushi rang out again, a signal that we'd run out of time. After exchanging goodbyes, Eustass-ya left the establishment with his colleagues.

Alone in my suite, I could no longer ignore the pounding of my heart. Eustass-ya had called me beautiful.

But Eustass-ya, I'm a prostitute. I'd lived my entire life in the pleasure quarters, spreading my legs for countless men, letting them use me however they pleased. How can someone like me ever be beautiful?

'I thought that you were really beautiful.'

His words echoed in my mind once again, and I felt like bursting from all the guilt overtaking my heart.

Lost in my thoughts, it was a while before I noticed the denden mushi ringing. With numb fingers, I picked up the receiver.

"...This is Suite 16, Trafalgar speaking."

"...Are you alright? You sound a little distressed. Did something happen with the previous customer?" The receptionist's concerned voice sounded through the denden mushi.

"I'm ok. What is it?"

"A customer has put in a request for you; a 120-minute course. He's made a special request to use sex toys..."

"No problem. Send him up."

"Alright."

XxXxXxX

~Kid's Side~

My first visit to the pleasure quarters happened a week ago.

They term it the pleasure quarters, but most of the activity took place inside a single huge mansion. Personally, I was against the idea of paying someone for sex, but what shocked me that night was perhaps learning that male prostitutes actually existed.

It soon became evident that my superiors preferred to be serviced by men, but I had my reservations. It wasn't that I had any bias or prejudice against male prostitutes; I just had no such interest in men. I couldn't, and didn't want to, imagine having sex with someone of the same gender...

Yet I had no way of getting out of this engagement, and it was with much reluctance that I ended up in the pleasure quarters that night. Like the female prostitutes, the men were displayed behind a harimise, waiting to catch a customer's eye. I stared at the ground, trying to will myself out of this place, when I suddenly felt someone's gaze fall upon me. Looking around, I caught one of the male prostitutes looking at me through the grills of the harimise.

'So...beautiful.'

The thought flashed across my mind as I took in his appearance. His hair was black, or was it blue?... No, it was a lovely deep ultramarine colour. His eyes were a darker shade, and shone like sapphires in the soft glow of the lanterns. Elegant features, a slim body; he possessed a dignified air, but there was also a hint of sensuality that slipped through. He was truly a beautiful man. Unable to hold his gaze, I looked away, flustered that he had caught me staring at him.

We entered the establishment, where my superiors bought a prostitute for me despite my protests. And when I was forced into a room, it was to my utmost surprise to find that it was the man with the sapphire eyes who was there waiting for me.

"...Is this your first time here?"

When I first laid eyes on him, I had imagined him to possess a meek personality, complete with a sweet, gentle voice, to match with his gorgeous features. Therefore, the sassy, slightly teasing tone of his voice surprised me.

However, I was too embarrassed by my current situation to come up with a good retort. Jumbled thoughts raced through my head. Was I really going to have sex with him? But I didn't know what to do! Could I even do it? Maybe it'd work if I imagined him as a woman... No, that'd never work! Maybe I should just back out... Tell him no, and ask about the cancellation rates...

My distress must have been painfully obvious, for the man artfully skirted around the topic, chatting amiably in an attempt to ease my nerves. When I finally manged to voice my concerns, he thoughtfully offered me a way out.

"...We can stay here and talk."

It was a casual offer on his part, but I accepted it eagerly, grateful that he'd understood.

"...Come, I'll serve you the first round of sake and snacks, free of charge."

With that, the sassy tone was back in his voice as he said this with a wink. Despite myself, my heart skipped a beat. I made a mental note to be extra careful around these prostitutes and their skillful tricks...

After that, the mood seemed to lighten up as we chatted through the alloted hour. He smiled and laughed at my stories, and it was in these moments when he looked much younger than he really was. It felt like I was spending time with a good friend.

Before I left, I asked for his name. That was when I learned that the man with the sapphire eyes was called Trafalgar Law.

He had a funny way of addressing me, and I was only slightly mortified to realize that I found "Eustass-ya" to be quite an endearing nickname.

A week had passed since then, and here I was, back at the pleasure quarters with the same superiors. Without any hesitation, I requested for Trafalgar at the reception. The night proceeded smoothly, as we chatted easily about different things.

It was nearing the end of my alloted slot when Trafalgar suddenly asked if I would have sex with him.

The question brought reality crashing down upon me. Yes, we were in the pleasure quarters, afterall, so it was natural for him to expect that. But I just couldn't see myself involved with another man that way.

When I told Trafalgar that, a hint of sadness flashed across his face, but it was gone almost immediately. I wondered if he was offended that I hadn't fallen for his charms, or if he thought I was making fun of his profession.

At that moment, the urge to tell him about my initial impression of him overwhelmed me, and so I did. His face turned scarlet at my confession, and the sight caused me to blush furiously as well.

In the end, I asked if it was alright if I came to see him again. Trafalgar shared that he enjoyed chatting with me, and the thought somehow brought a gladness to my heart. I found myself already looking forward to our next meeting.

I exited his suite in high spirits, and made my way down to reception. Along the way, I met with a couple of colleagues who were also exiting from other suites, and we proceeded to the building's entrance to wait for our superiors.

There were several men at the reception area, making requests for prostitutes. As we walked by, I caught a snippet of the conversation between a customer and the receptionist.

"Is Trafalgar Law in Suite 16 free? He's the one with the pretty face~"

"You're in luck, sir. Suite 16 is one of our more popular choices, but he happens to be free right now. Would you like to make any special requests?"

I glanced over to see a pot-bellied, middle-aged man, leering as he leaned over to whisper conspiratorially into the receptionist's ear. Huge rings adorned his thick fingers and caught the light as he wriggled them in the air, absorbed in whatever fantasy he was describing to the blushing receptionist.

My heart did a twist. Was this the type of man Trafalgar had to serve?

"Oi, Eustass! What are you doing? Let's go!"

"...Oh, yes! Sorry!"

I tore my eyes away from the man and resumed walking, but not before noticing the bulge in his pants as he turned to head up the stairs. Disgust coiled within me as I imagined a pig like him staining Trafalgar's beautiful body.

But what was I thinking? This was the pleasure quarters, and anyone with the money could buy pleasure from any prostitute he wanted.

I tried to assure myself with the fact that Trafalgar was probably used to living like this by now. Yes, it was simply his job; servicing all manners of men was just part and parcel of what he did every day.

But the memory of Trafalgar's innocent smile as he listened to my stories wouldn't leave my mind. I knew he was a prostitute, but I couldn't shake the feeling of indignity burning within me, threatening to tear my heart apart.

Japanese phrases

Harimise: latticed cages at the fronts of the brothels where prostitutes are put on display
Tatami: woven mat flooring. Traditional unit of measurement for area. More about tatami real estate can be found at the following link: japaninfoswap,com/measuring-room-sizes-in-japan/
Shoji: a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo

Please leave a review or comment if you can. All of them will be translated and presented to the original author. (・ω・*)

Childerika: Thank you for your review! I'm so glad you like this story! ^_^

darkimpulse: Hmm, this one only has 4 chapters updated so far, but it's definitely less angsty than the other one for now. "Till you say you love me" will still be updated, so do keep a lookout!

Muffin: Glad you love it! Hope you liked this chapter!

Guest: Lovely! I love this story too~~

Shiina Yuki: Heheh I'm glad you like it! I was afraid my translation wasn't going to bring across the beauty and heart of this story, but reading your comment made me feel better~ And yeah, Kid is more of a gentleman in this fic!

Angelmon: Glad you love it! I'm glad to translate for everyone!

loogoo: *serves you tea* Thank you for waiting, here's chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it!