Author's Note: Happy birthday, Shinra! I hadn't expected this to turn out as long as it did. The whole idea came from a video from Ambience Magic's channel. The video is called "Natural Ambiance - Bar Lounge (music, glasses, distant chatter)." This was during my ASMR ambiance project I started last year. I like how this bite turned out. We get to see a little bit more development for Sakamoto Chie. We might see more development from the other tadpoles in the future. Plus, we get to see the Master of Lies again. Next up is going to be Izaya and Simon's birthdays. I already have those two planned out. I can't wait to see you then. For now, enjoy this bite.
Night at the Bar Lounge
Chie stood alone in this fancy bar lounge. This was Shinra's idea, of course. She stared at him with wide eyes when he said it.
"What?!" she asked.
"Come on, it will be good for you," he said. "Just go out for the night. I will text you the directions for where you need to go." The tadpole blinked at him.
"Why would I do that?" she asked.
"So you will know where you are going tonight, of course," he said. Chie slowly shook her head.
"No, I mean why are you forcing me to go out in public?" Shinra leaned in close to my face.
"You need this," he said. Chie took a step back.
"I can't!" she said. "My powers will come back again." She gave him a strange look.
"And wouldn't Celty be mad if I was out with you?" the tadpole asked. The doctor put up his hands.
"Oh, I'm not going," he said. The color drained from her face as she stared at him with big eyes.
"Wait, what?!" she shouted.
"That's right, you are going out alone tonight," he said.
"But… But…" the poor tadpole said. The doctor gently put his hand on her shoulder.
"There, there," he said. "You just have to make it through the whole night. We didn't even put you in a crowded place tonight." Chie raised an eyebrow at him.
"Wait… we?" she asked. "Did Yukio put you up to this?"
"Well, yes and no," the doctor admitted. "We're just doing this to help you." Shinra pushed Chie to the door before she could say a word. The tadpole tried to resist, but the doctor wouldn't give up. She felt her powers drop as he pushed her through the door. Chie whipped around, confused.
"What just happened?" she asked. Shinra waved at her.
"Bye-bye," he said. "I don't expect to see you back until two in the morning."
"But…" Chie said again.
"Have fun! Bye now," Shinra said. The doctor shut the door. Poor Chie was left standing outside not knowing what to do.
"Now what?" she asked herself. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Sure enough, Shinra sent her the directions on where the tadpole needed to go. He was really expecting her to do this, wasn't he? She had no choice in the matter. Chie turned and walked down the street.
This place didn't look half-bad. There weren't many people around tonight. This bar felt more like a private club. The red walls gave off that vibe. The rug looked like it came from the 1950s. Same with the brown and red sofa against the wall. Some of the chairs in the center were made of leather. Some of the red chairs at the bar were plush red. The bar looked like it came from the movie The Shining. Even the picture of the three horses above the sofa added a vintage charm to the bar lounge. The music played softly in the background. Not too loud to give her a headache. The chatter in the bar lounge made her ears buzz. Chie held her glass to her chest.
"I want to go home," she said to herself. It was then she noticed that she wasn't alone. Chie slowly turned her head.
He had to have looked about her age. Maybe a little bit older. He had on a nice gray suit and a black tie. This man had some grey mixed in with his slicked-back hair. The hungry lust he gave off made her choke. She tried not to look at him.
"Good evening," he said.
"Hi," she said. She tried not to make eye contact with him. The woman thought that she was going to choke. As much as she wanted to run away screaming, she forced herself to stay in place. The man frowned and pouted at her.
"Aw, what's the matter?" he asked.
"I don't get out much," she said. She slowly took a step back. The man started to move forward again.
"Please… don't," I said. "I don't like people standing too close to me." The man paused.
"Oh, sorry about that," he said. Chie stood unable to move or look at him. The man frowned with a concerned look on his face.
"You feeling okay?" he asked. Chie shook her head.
"Would you like to sit down?" he asked. She shook her head again. The tadpole held her cup to her chest. Why wouldn't he just leave?
"Could you please leave me alone?" Chie asked. His lust felt like it was crushing down on her. She might as well have been pushed into the ground. She kept asking herself why she was here.
"Come on, we'll just sit down, okay?" the man said. He took her by the arm before she could open her mouth. A pulsing jolt shot through his body. The man let out a loud gasp. Chie looked up to see his face turning bright red.
"Oh, baby!" he said. "You are so beautiful! You are more beautiful than my wife when she was younger! I just got to have you! Come here!" The man tried to lean in and kiss her. Chie screamed and shoved him off. The man fell to the floor with a crash. She stood over him, panting. She looked up to see all eyes on her. Chie panted as her heart pounded against her chest.
"Please stop staring at me," she pleaded in a small voice.
"Are you all right, miss?" a voice asked behind her. The tadpole whipped around. One of the barmaids stood inches away from her hand out. Her concern eased Chie a little bit. The older woman shook her head.
"I am so sorry," the barmaid said. "I have never seen him like this before. Please, take a seat." She motioned over to the couch against the wall. Chie slowly nodded and walked with her to sit down.
"There we go," the barmaid said. Chie looked up at her, silent and shaking.
"I'm so sorry for all of that. Can I get you anything?" the younger woman asked. Chie shook her head. The barmaid pushed her hair from her eyes.
"Okay, dear," she said. "Just let me know if you need anything." The tadpole tried to calm down as she nodded.
"Ayame! Get back to work!" the manager shouted.
"Right!" the barmaid shouted. She jogged back to the bar. Chie was left sitting alone on the couch. She leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
However, she wouldn't be alone for long.
Against her better judgment, Chie slowly turned her head. Her heart jumped in her chest. A man who looked like Izaya in a red kimono sat, smoking his pipe.
"Good evening," he said. Chie blinked at first.
"You're not Izaya," she said.
"No," the man said. "You aren't the first one to say that either." The tadpole woman tilted her head.
"Who are you?" she asked. The man flicked out his pipe.
"I am the Master of Lies," he said. "Nice to meet you." Chie looked so confused. She couldn't feel any of his emotions. His eyes had a hungry look in them. Chie scooted away from the Master.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"Heh," he said. The Master took another smoke of his pipe.
"I want to see what you can do," he said.
"What do you mean?" the tadpole asked. The Master leaned in closer, making her back up again. He smirked at her.
"The power of empathy," he said. "That's a rather interesting one."
"No, it's not," Chie said, shaking her head. "This power is a nightmare!"
"Is it, though?" he asked. She gave him a blank stare. The Master took another puff of his pipe.
"You can feel people's emotions," he said. "Do you know what you can do with that?"
"No…" Chie said. Something inside of her screamed at her to run. His eyes lingered on her. The tadpole's eye darted around.
"Look, I don't know what you want from me," she said. He took her by the wrist. Chie tried to pull away.
"Let me go," she said. "Please?" The Master shook his head.
"Just hear me out," he said. Something in his voice made her freeze. She gave him a blank stare.
"Good," the Master said. "You have a gold mine with your powers. Do you know how powerful you are?" Chie shook her head.
"No and I don't want to know," she said. The Master pouted at her. Chie tried to look away.
"Come on," he said.
"No," she said.
"Why is that?" the Master asked. She lowered her head.
"My powers scare me," she admitted. Chie's hand went limp in the Master's grasp.
"It doesn't have to be," he said. She stared at him at first. She slowly shook her head. He made her feel like she was the only one in this bar lounge. The chatter and music faded away into silence.
"Show me what you can do," the Master said. Chie's heart started pounding in her chest. She gulped.
"W-W-What do you want me to do?" she asked. The Master took a moment to think about it before he looked around the bar lounge. This place was flowing with lies and deception. He would have to come back here on his own later. Right now, he had to focus.
Finally, the Master looked over at the bar. A man in a black coat sat alone with his back to them. He appeared to be hunched over this drink. The Master smirked.
"Yes, he will do just fine," he said. Chie turned her head and saw the man. The Master gave her a little nudge.
"Go on," he said. "Off you go." He nudged her until she stood up.
"Okay, okay!" Chie shouted. "Geez." The tadpole turned back to the man in question. That old fear started to well up in her throat. She couldn't handle that sleazy man who was hitting on her earlier. How was this one going to turn out? Chie could feel the Master's eyes on her back. She gulped and began walking forward. What choice did she have?
Chie walked over to the bar and sat down next to her target. The sorrow from this man made her feel like she was drowning in freezing cold water. So much negativity. His thoughts stood out from the white noise around her.
I don't want to live anymore. Why do I even bother?
Chie gulped at the heaviness crushing her. She could just get up and go home. But those deep red eyes across the room kept her in place. Plus, Shinra said that she couldn't come back until two in the morning.
"Excuse me, sir," she spoke up. The man turned his head. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. The bags under his eyes looked so heavy. The bloodshot eyes looked so red. Chie drew back her hand.
"What?" the man asked. Chie stared at him as she felt like she was drowning. She swallowed heavily.
"Do you want to talk?" she asked.
"No," he slurred out.
"You're right, you're right," Chie said. "I'm so sorry." The man wouldn't stop staring at her.
"You're so pretty!" he said. The tadpole nervously laughed. Where was he going with this?
"Um… Can I help you with something?" she asked. The man didn't say anything at first. His eyes started to well up with tears. The man leaned on her and started crying. Chie felt like she was going to drown. She took in heavy breaths. The man looked up at her with big eyes.
"I loved her so much!" he blurted out. "We were going to get married! Why?! Why did she do this to me?!" Chie wrinkled her nose.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. The man broke down sobbing. The tadpole looked up to see the bartender shooting her a sympathetic look. Chie shook her head. The bartender went back to work.
The man wouldn't stop talking about his love life and how miserable he was. Chie sat there and listened. By now, she couldn't leave. She was committed to this now. The tadpole was going to have to see this through. By now, everyone was staring at her. Chie nervously laughed. Meanwhile, the Master was watching them with a smirk. Her new "friend" looked up at her.
"What should I do? I love her so much!" he wailed. Chie stiffed up as she took a breath through this man's sorrow.
"Well, first stop drinking. You're giving me a headache," she said.
"What?" he asked. Chie gently pushed him off.
"Drinking isn't going to help you," she said.
"Huh?" the man asked. She gently pulled the glass out of his hand. Her new "friend" stared at her like a little confused child. Chie cleared her throat.
"You need to get it all out," she said. "Just cry. Get it all out of your system." The man looked at her and started crying. He cried on her chest again. Chie reluctantly patted him on the back. She looked up to see the bartender looking at her.
"Is he okay?" he whispered. Chie quickly nodded.
"We're fine," she said. Her head was starting to swim from all of her new "friend's" emotions. At some points felt too hard to breathe. A thin layer of sweat covered her skin. Her short red party dress was getting ruined. She was going to have to hang it up to air out when she got home. It was amazing that she hadn't passed out yet. The bartender said nothing as he went back to work. Chie's limit of comfort was being tested at this point.
"Uh… listen, I think you need to sleep it all off," she said. Her new "friend" looked up as the tears dried up.
"I'm going to call you a cab to get you home, okay?" Chie said in a calm tone. The man just stared up at her like a drunk little needy child.
"Home?" he asked. She gently pushed him off of her.
"Yes," the tadpole said before taking another breath. She pulled out her phone and called up a cab.
"They are on their way," Chie said in his ear.
"Home, yay!" the man shouted.
"Yes. You know what? Why don't you just take a seat until then, yes?" she said. The tadpole looked around with a nervous look on her face. The bartender looked at her with sympathy but didn't offer to help. The tadpole helped the man sit back down on the barstool. Chie and another barmaid waited with the man until the cab arrived. They wouldn't let him have another drink.
Finally, Chie and the bartender helped the man outside. They didn't go back inside until the cab pulled away. It was then Chie could finally breathe. It felt like a giant boulder was pulled off of his body. She felt like she was about to collapse. It would take a while for her to feel better again. She was the one who paid the fare.
"His address is in his phone," the tadpole told the driver. Chie and the bartender walked into the bar. She made it back over to the couch. The Master looked up at her with a little smirk.
"Well?" Chie asked. The Master clapped.
"That was beautiful," he said. "I loved it!" Chie frowned as she narrowed her eyes.
"Don't ever make me do that again," she said. He shrugged at her.
"Can't promise you anything," the Master said. Chie rolled her eyes and sat down. She looked like a worn-out rag doll. How long did she have to stay here again? She was going to need a drink.
"I'm home," Chie said. She found Shinra sitting on the couch, waiting for her.
"Welcome home," he said with a wave. The tadpole leaned against the door frame.
"So how was your night out?" Shinra asked. Chie threw back her head and groaned.
"Too long!" she complained. "I'm going to bed." The doctor watched as she walked by.
"Good night," Shinra said was a wave. The door closed down the hall.