Like a Switch | By : Demonic_Host Category: Fruits Basket > Het - Male/Female Views: 4192 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3 |
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Like a Switch
Chapter Five
It had been four days since you had last seen Yuki or his cousin Shigure. While their names still struck a chord in you, the younger man named Yuki had reacted in such a way that you doubted they were part of the same cursed family you'd come from. Though you weren't sure if Sohma was a common surname in Japan given its Chinese origins at the same time. Maybe they were just part of the family that didn't know about the curse. Either way you had been slightly disappointed that you hadn't seen at Shigure, you knew his actual name name thanks to Yuki, in six days.
You had gotten so used to having a near daily visitor in such a short amount of time. That might have been because he treated you well and seemed much less interested in your body than your usual customers. He might have hugged you often and even fell asleep on you once but it almost had an innocent feel. He genuinely just wanted the human contact without too much perversion woven in. It had been a nice reprieve. Especially considering the fact that the current nearly-drunk man beside you kept trying to slip his hand up your skirt.
"Determination is an admirable quality at work. You must be the person that everyone turns to in order to get the big projects done," you complimented even as you moved his hand.
You moved him discreetly so that he could save face and so that no red flags were thrown up. After all this was the red light district so some liberties were allowed. It was just that all the touching was supposed to be from the waist up with no mouth to mouth kisses. There was also supposed to be some form of discretion based on the girls' preference but that didn't exactly play out on a nightly basis. Those were the general rules of the kyabakura club you worked in.
As the lights turned off you ran your hands down the drunken man's face. By this point you knew when a customer enjoyed your touch and when they enjoyed it a little too much. This man had started to cross that line so you knew you had to remove yourself to mitigate the situation. You pressed your palms to his chest and leaned in to whisper something about how he was just too much for you. You knew that he bought it based on the way he had shifted in his seat. Before that led to him getting too handsy you stood up and moved away from the middle-aged salaryman.
Even in the dark it was easy to navigate through the building. You and all the other girls had to practice moving in the dark on request of the club owner. While the guys that frequented the club might trip and stumble about when the lights went off as they were, everyone working would be able to move about relatively freely. It was like a sort of safety net for when things got out of hand. It was also a good way to switch with other girls to surprise the patrons.
Once you got behind the back curtain you took a deep breath. There was sort of a reception waiting for you or any other girl on the back wall. Dim overhead lighting illuminated bottles of water and various starchy snacks to help with the alcohol. There was even a bowl full of mints and a shelf full of scented wipes. Of course if more than two girls were back behind the scenes at the same time the illusion might have been given away as it was such a narrow space. Which was why you were glad that all the other girls were still with the customers.
You leaned against the wall as you used a softly floral scented wipe to clean yourself up with. It was more to help you feel more refreshed so you could go at the next customer with a better attitude than to actually get you clean. Not that they hadn't come in handy that way before as well; clients with overactive saliva glands were on your list of the worst things in the world.
"Anita?"
You blinked and looked up. You could have sworn you just heard your name being called. Yet it hadn't sounded like your boss or anyone on staff.
"Why don't you come out? I know you're behind the curtain."
Curiosity more than anything else made you peek out to see who it was. Shigure peered at you even though you knew the curtain blocked you from site completely. That was odd. The back curtains kept the illusion for everyone else. Why not him?
"Or I could join you back there if you want," he continued to talk, though this time even you had a hard time hearing his whisper.
He would probably get in trouble if he joined you. Not to mention it would give off the wrong impression if anyone saw your clean reputation would be stained due to the intimate and private setting. That all relied on anyone seeing but honestly you doubted he'd get away with it. The club had far too many people in such a small space for someone not to see a patron disappear behind the curtain.
You daintily stepped out from behind the dividing fabric. It was strange; he welcomed the sight of you like you were some goddess coming down to grace him with your presence. In some way you were used to a bit of adoration - your job and genetics practically guaranteed that. From him it felt like something more which was silly considering you'd ruled out him knowing anything about the curse based on Yuki Sohma's responses.
"Long time no see," you greeted.
He smiled and you could practically see how he was about to come at you with arms opened wide. That was a rather forward action even among friends. Shigure seemed to realize that too as he almost reluctantly settled back down before he got too close.
"Who are you seeing tonight?" You asked pleasantly.
"You," he said just the same.
Odd; patrons were always seated with a girl upon arrival. Assuming they were let in of course. 'Inventory' was a serious concern. There was only a fixed numbers of girls after all and some men wanted o be surrounded. Sometimes it was a group of men but usually they came in by themselves.
As discreetly as you could you tried to peer around him. If he had decided to get up from his booth then his hostess was bound to be nearby. Sure enough one of your coworkers hovered behind him.
Shigure picked up on your line of site. He chuckled even if he did look like he just got caught with his hands in the cookie-jar. You smiled in amusement at the situation. It was almost as though he was trying to play innocent to the fact that he'd been doing something naughty. Yet at the same time you knew in the back of your head that sooner or later if he kept his actions up he was going to make it difficult to work.
Your relationship with the other girls wasn't what it could be. If he kept paying extra for you to stay once you got to him or abandoning the other hostesses until you got to him it was going to create some hard to mend jealousy. Still if you got a complaint against you because he felt snubbed then you had the chance of having a black mark against your record. You had to chose the immediate lesser of two evils. Which meant that you gently grabbed his hand and started leading him towards the booth he had just left.
Thankfully Risa, your co-worker who happened to be the girl he abandoned, had moved on. Otherwise the return might have been awkward. As you sat down you noticed something else. There was that boy, Yuki Sohma, in the booth as well. Only unlike his cousin he looked completely out of place. He had this lost look as his eyes tried to take in everything at once. It was as though he was trying to figure everything out and memorize what was happening around him but didn't have anything to base his observations off of.
"Did you want me to call Risa back?" You asked quietly.
Although you could have sworn that Yuki wasn't old enough to be in this place. He didn't seem old enough when you and he went to the aquarium. He was mature, sure, but you'd been sure that he hadn't been twenty years old yet. You just hoped that he had graduated from senior high school as you would hate for him to get in trouble with his school. If he had looked more at home maybe he would have deserved it but right now he looked completely lost. Which meant that this was probably his first time at this sort of club.
"No, no, this is fine. We don't need that much attention. Isn't that right Yuki?"
Said boy snapped to attention and his wide eyed stare slowly turned into a glare. That did make him look a bit older but still...you weren't too sure if he belonged in this club. Wilting a little under his cousins' glare, Shigure took a seat slightly away from Yuki. That left the spot between them to take a seat. It wasn't the most ideal situation but you had to work with what you had.
"What brings you here? Other than Shigure of course." You asked Yuki, deciding that it would be best to put him back into a good mood quickly.
"I was asked to accompany him in my older brother's stead."
That was strange. Did Shigure have some special needs that you didn't know about? It almost made sense considering that he seemed entire too focused on you and neglected far prettier girls.
"Oh? Did something happen at your older brother's work?" It felt safe to assume it was a work issue since that happened the most.
Yuki shook his head. "No. It's just that the two of them are hopeless together. Neither of them are very responsible."
If you had been looking at Shigure you would have seen how quickly and intensely his expressions changed. One minute he was happy to sit next to you and the next he looked like Yuki had just kicked his dog.
"That's so mean," he pouted.
"I don't care."
There was some definite tension between the two of them. If you weren't careful the tense atmosphere might infect the rest of the building. You had to be careful of that. Which was disconcerting as you didn't believe that Yuki had been so crumedy on the date. Maybe something happened between the two of them recently. Or maybe Yuki was just too tense from all of the responsibilities that he faced being the most responsible one in his group.
Either way you needed to soften him up before the time to switch came. You couldn't let his negativity ruin his or anyone else's time here. Gently you ran your hand along his knuckles and smiled at him gently.
"I think it's wonderful that your family trusts you so much to look after your older cousin. That says a lot about you as a man."
Even with such a simple praise he seemed to get flustered. You were used to that of course so it didn't really phase you. What made you let out a sound of surprise was when Shigure wrapped around you from behind as though it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do.
"He's so mean. I don't need anyone to look after me. Hari is just overthinking things."
...Who was Hari?
"Obviously you do or he wouldn't have asked me to come. Did you even tell him where she worked?"
You felt Shigure practically wiggle as he held onto you. You couldn't tell if he was trying to snuggle or if he was just awkwardly trying to bite his tongue. You got your answer the next time he opened his mouth.
"Actually he was the one who pointed the adult entertainment out to me."
Had he forgotten what street he walked down to get to the club? Or that the building had half circular booths designed for a bit of privacy? How had he overlooked it being a kyabakura club?
"Does being here bother you?" You asked to divert attention from the disagreement that was building between the two of them.
"Not at all!" Shigure said happily as he buried his nose into your neck.
"Yes," Yuki answered at the same time as his cousin.
Using your free hand you gently touched the side of Shigure's face to acknowledge him while still paying attention to Yuki. He wasn't the one currently being a human blanket so it was a bit easier. It was a tricky move seeing as you could see the distaste and judgement in his eyes as he stared at his affectionate cousin.
"I'm sorry you feel that way. Personally I love it here. Each day I get up I'm excited to come back."
Mostly.
The gray teenager shifted his gaze towards your actual face. "You like working here? You don't wish you worked somewhere else?"
"Where else could I work that would be as nice as this? I get to talk with people all over the city. I get to help them work out their problems without needing a license to do so. And I get to drink on the job if I want. It's a great place to work."
"But you have to deal with people like my cousin," the young man pointed out with a tone that suggested he wasn't keen on the idea.
"Human contact is often an overlooked part of wellness. As human beings we evolved as social animals. Touching one another is in outer very nature. I believe that when it's denied, our system is thrown out of balance. When it's repressed you repress a part of what makes you a social being, what makes you human. From there you get the people who pervert the concept and it takes form into many different avenues that it wasn't supposed to from the start."
"But you must feel uncomfortable having men who are only thinking of sex touching you all night long," he probed.
"Sometimes. Other times, like with Shigure, it really is just for comfort," you smiled as you ran your hand down the side of Shigure's face once more.
Yuki didn't seem the least bit convinced. In fact he almost seemed more critical than curious once more the moment you'd willingly touched the side of his cousins face. From what you could tell the svelte young man was highly logical and more than likely against public displays of affection just like many other people. Or he just had something against his cousin. Considering the fact that his cousin had paid for an afternoon with you for him and had roped him into coming tonight you couldn't help but feel like he thought you could fix it. Maybe you could; you weren't sure how deep the wounds ran.
"Shigure?" You questioned quietly.
"Yes?"
You ran your hands alongside his, slipping a finger or two underneath some of his as you tried to wordlessly show him that you wanted him to let go. For a moment you thought he was going to refuse. You felt him tighten his grip and in that moment you understood that he had a rather tight chest and slim waistline underneath that suit. Funny because he didn't seem like that active of a person to you. Soon enough he let you go.
You turned around and whispered into his ear, "Pretend you have to use the restroom, I think your cousin just needs some privacy."
"If you keep whispering like that, I won't have to pretend," Shigure whispered back in a pretty flirtatious voice.
So much for your innocent human contact idea. You were used to those type of sexual remarks so it didn't phase you. It did make you think about the best way to interact with him when he returned though. You pulled away from him with a smile before Shigure stood up formally and started to walk away. You trusted that he would find the restroom eventually.
You turned your attention back towards Yuki and scooted closer to him. You made sure that your knee touched his as you got his attention. You didn't bother reaching for his hand because it didn't feel like the right thing to do. You did however make sure to get as near as possible so that eventually your side was touching his. He stayed firmly in place even if his breathing hitched a little in surprise.
"It's okay you know. Whatever you're feeling, that's what's natural for you. You get to be yourself here - that's what this whole place is about. That's the only thing I want. I want to get to know the real you. Even if it's someone who doesn't like being touched, that's okay too."
As you spoke you slowly started to stand up. You kept close to him of course, and it wasn't just because of the circular table either. You wanted to make your point and you knew that one way to do it was draw attention to the stark contrasts. Let him see what it was like to be in contact even though it was casual and you were moving. Then let him realize how comfortable he was with that by pulling away.
"Or if it's me then I could find you someone else to talk to. If not her than another and another until you find the right person. Like I said this is the place where you can be yourself and it's okay if that's not with me."
That last part is where you started to turn around. You made sure that you weren't in contact anymore as you walked off, giving him all of that to think over. You wanted to prove your point but at the same time you told him the truth. If you were the reason that he was uncomfortable then you'd remove yourself from the equation. Just because you seemed to have become his cousin Shigure's favorite didn't mean you would be his. You just hoped that if he was under aged that any of the hostesses he favored wouldn't make a big deal of it.
What you had no way of knowing was that the moment you'd walked off Yuki clenched his fists in frustration. It wasn't at you entirely. Mostly he was frustrated at himself for what had just happened. He had come with Shigure with the sole purpose of keeping him on task. Hatori had warned Shigure about bringing you back to the family estate, he'd said as such on the walk there, but that hadn't been their goal. Their goal for the night had been simpler. Which was to see if you even knew about the Sohma family curse and your role in it.
He had gotten distracted by silly things. Like the nature of your work. Or the fact that Shigure had practically been taking advantage of that. Yuki couldn't help but feel that the zodiac member should have comported himself better. Even if it was part of your paying job he still felt like Shigure was using you. By not letting you know, directly, that you were among the very few girls they could hug and not turn into animal it felt like a lie. He had to do enough of that during school even if it felt like a lot less since Tohru joined their household. Not to mention your touch coated them in warm and protective force that was hard to ignore and harder to deny. They didn't even know if you knew about it. And without your conscious consent Yuki felt like they were taking advantage of your good will. Especially with the way Shigure had hung all over you.
"Yuki? Where's Anita?"
The teenager looked up to see Shigure's confused and concerned gaze. Yuki stood up and smoothed down his pants as he decided on what to tell his older cousin. Though that was a very loose connection considering the fact that he had at least a hundred cousins.
"She walked away."
"Oh dear, what did you do?"
Unfortunately Yuki's glare didn't seem nearly as effective in this particularly lighting. "Nothing. And stop whining. We'll see her again soon."
The look on Shigure's face reminded him too much of his brother Ayam when he'd said that. Instantly Yuki regretted saying anything to begin with.
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