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“Shoes off,” ordered Ayame, as she was taking her own off. “Heels are sexy but no need to ruin the mats with them!”
Jacquie and Eden exchanged a look, a bit surprised. That was surprising... It didn’t feel like Yasumoto was concerned about customs or such a thing as preserving the mats. Still, everyone obeyed, and soon a line of high heels appeared in a row. Eden noticed how Ayame was staring at all those heels... Perhaps she was wondering if they had hidden weapons? A high heel shoe could definitely be a weapon in itself too... Eden had already seen one or two of her colleagues use it against some undesired or pushy customers.
Still, aside from the two gorillas outside, this entrance hall was strangely bare and unguarded. It felt like a museum entrance, with only a couple of Japanese art pieces hung on the wall or on little tables for display. Once all the girls had their toes exposed, Ayame turned around to face them. This time, the bleached blonde had a serious look on.
“Listen, ladies. You’re now in the House of the Snake. I don’t need to remind you he is a Zodiac, but his men are as impatient, merciless, and cruel as you all can imagine. If you make a mistake, no one here will think twice before killing you. So, business smiles on. You perk up those butts, do what you’re told, and if you’re asked anything, the answer is yes and a polite one. I warn you, you’re not allowed anywhere above the fifth floor. For those who were wondering, the bathrooms are...”
Eden glanced at the stairs behind Ayame, probably leading to the higher floors. Just like Dante’s building, this place most likely had the same configuration; the higher they went, the closer they would get to the Zodiac’s private quarters, to what he was hiding there and did not want others to see. Despite the warnings, Eden was getting a bit more excited to be able to sneak around this place. If the Snake was as fond of technology as the rumors said, the place could be rigged with more tech she could steal once this whole ordeal was over. Perhaps Dante wouldn’t care about her and Loir getting their hands on some precious pieces of equipment…
Eden glanced down at some of the items displayed, probably expensive art. Would those bring in a lot of money if they were sold? She didn’t care much about what plans Dante had for this place, but she hoped to find some nice treasures before he could seize everything and get curious about what she grabbed for herself...
“...only some lieutenants today. So no need to freak out about broken glass, alright? Those guys are just a bit... ungentlemanly, but they are good guys. Right?”
Ayame finished her sentence with a little smile. So they weren’t going to “serve” any higher-ups, only entertain the small-fry Yakuza... Eden had only half-listened to this crap, but from Jack’s somewhat passive expression, nothing very thrilling or worrying had been said that she would have missed. She was more worried about where they were being taken to, and how to get out of there fast. Unlike Rose or Ayame, Eden wasn’t really standing out amongst all the young women; they were mostly taller than her and wearing even more colorful clothes. Would they notice a missing person among the group…? They began moving again and Eden suddenly realized: they were already missing someone.
C. wasn’t among them anymore. Eden discreetly looked around, but the goth was really gone.
“...What are you looking for?” asked Jacquie.
“C. She’s gone,” whispered Eden.
“Oh, she asked if she could make a stop by the bathroom. Ayame said yes, and the goril–the guy that was behind us went with her...”
Eden was surprised. The two of them had left so smoothly in her couple minutes of inattention that she completely missed them. The room was large and there were several girls around, but Eden didn’t think one could really vanish before they realized! She already had an ominous feeling about it... Was C. looking to be isolated as well? Eden worried a bit and checked that she had really turned her SIN back on. If that woman was by any chance working for the Rat, their opponents were taking the lead already...
She didn’t have time to pretend to go to the bathroom too, even in the unlikely event it would have worked. The group resumed moving. There were more guards standing inside on each side of the door.
Ayame was visibly very used to the place. While the little group behind her stayed close to each other and would look around to try and take in their surroundings, she moved easily from one room to another, greeting the Yakuza that walked by with a large smile, flirtatious glances, and calling some by their names. Eden noticed they hadn’t gotten higher than the first floor. Yet, it would be scarily easy to get lost in there. Perhaps on purpose, every single corridor was exactly the same as the previous one. Same wooden floors, same dark red bamboo walls. The only thing that changed was the art pieces on the walls, sometimes ancient paintings, sometimes mere scrolls with calligraphy on it. The few rooms they walked by, though, were different. They all had mats, but they had different settings, some obviously to receive people, some for training. It wasn’t often they passed by doors that were left open, however, so Eden had only been able to glance at a few before Ayame took them where she wanted.
“We’re here,” she finally said as they arrived in front of a large red door. “Showtime!”
She suddenly opened the door, and a wave of sound hit the little group. Because the doors were so thick and heavy, Eden hadn’t even noticed there was music playing on the other side, and loud too. Not only that, but the room was filled with about thirty men and about as many young women already, everyone laughing and chatting loudly. The room had mats on the floor and dark red walls like the others, but that was the only similarity. Dozens of little tables were put on the floor, every inch of them crowded with glasses, bottles of alcohol, and food. The lights were dim and changing colors from red to a bright orange or purple, in a small spectrum of colors that made the whole place feel even hotter than it was. And it was already pretty hot. After the sounds, Eden realized the inside of that place felt terribly hot and humid and was... quite smelly too. A lot of the men there were half-naked, showing off their tattoos, but for some reason also sweating profusely. The masses of skin and sweat made Eden feel very uncomfortable, even as they all walked in. This felt like arriving in the middle of a party that had gotten too wild already. Even the girls already inside were obviously too drunk, laughing loudly and making wobbly movements.
Their group was probably there to serve as “refreshments”. As soon as they arrived, a few of the ones already there stood up and left through the doors behind Ayame. Eden looked around, but she already knew it would be hard to escape from there, quite literally so. The room was big, and there were doors at both ends, but there was no way those doors could be opened without someone noticing. They were too large, there were too many people, and the lighting in this room was too different.
“New ladies! Come here, my pretties!” shouted one of the men.
If they had been terrified before, Eden had to admit that her new colleagues were very professional now. The girls had all changed from the scared expressions they had earlier to wide smiles, confident attitudes, and sexy moves, each picking her target already. Of course, they knew they would probably be paid handsomely for this if they acted well, and perhaps, the threat of what would happen if things went wrong convinced them to work harder too.
Another thing bothered Eden as the group scattered around: everyone there was sitting down on the mats on the floor. Hence, those standing up were all very visible and… standing out from the Yakuzas and their entertainers. She quietly sat down with Rose and Jack, as luckily, all Yakuzas were already taken care of by two or three ladies already. Eden had noticed that some women weren’t busy servicing the men, but instead, were just bringing the bottles around and pouring them, or clearing the dishes off the tables for new ones to arrive. Hence, just a few minutes after they had come in, the doors were opened again, some women walking out while some walked back inside. Perhaps the ones that were most used to the place... In any case, it meant they weren’t completely trapped.
“What now, honey?” whispered Jack. “What do we do?”
“Now, you two stay here,” retorted Eden. “You already helped me get in, if they find you snooping around like me, they will kill you. You’re safer here playing along than coming with me.”
“I’m fine with that, but not with the small fries here,” said Rose, her lips tight. “Those guys are obviously the lower ranks here... I don’t see how I’ll empty some pockets and fill mine. Even the alcohol they drink looks and smells cheap! I’ll leave them to those bitches....”
“Rose, no! You wait here with Jacquie before you get yourself killed; we didn’t come here to make money!”
“Perhaps you didn’t, Eden, but I did! Don’t worry about me, I’m a grown-ass girl. You do your business, I’ll do mine. That’s a... Wait, Jack, is that guy waving at you or me?”
Indeed, on the other side, one of the men seemed to be sending grins their way, and waving a bit strangely. Jack waved back, and the guy got excited all of a sudden, agitating the bottle in his hand until he almost hit one of the girls next to him.
“You’re so pretty!” he shouted loudly. “Come here, my lovely lady!”
“Oh, dear,” Jack muttered through his teeth, stuck into a fake smile. “Don’t you guys dare leave me here...”
He moved toward the guy, trying to act polite and sexy, but Rose and Eden could see how awkward poor Jack was as the elated Japanese man grabbed his wrist and sat him on his lap, completely forgetting the other ladies next to him. Eden grimaced, while Rose was shaking her head.
