♊︎Year 5067, Month 8, Day 8, Time 12:00 am♊︎
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"The investor of room 33 wants to invite you up." The familiar bartender informs them, redirecting their gazes to the platforms above.
For a split moment, Kurenai thinks she sees a spot of neon pink hair flash up there, but the moment she sees it, it disappears. Looking back down at the bartender in front of her, she feels her resolution strengthening and her mind coming back to her after kissing San.
"We'll be heading up right away then." She untangles herself awkwardly from San's grip, following the bartender who bows in understanding.
"Right this way." She looks back at San and waves for him to follow along, trying to shake off the feeling that had taken over her before she arrives at the investor's room.
She's dealt with this contact plenty of times before to know that if she shows any weakness, whether it be a personal weakness or soft spot for someone else, this contact will surely exploit it.
"Take these stairs up and the room you're looking for will be the fifth one." The bartender announces once they arrive at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the platform above.
Kurenai thanks the man once again for his help and turns to San sharply once he leaves with a stoic expression.
"San, listen to me very carefully. When we meet with my contact: do not speak unless spoken to, do not touch or show me affection in any way, do not show any sign of emotions, and most importantly, whatever they do to me, do not intervene." She warns him, holding up a single finger in a chiding manner. "Got it?"
"Y-yes, ma'am." He gulps at the thought of just what she means by the last instruction, but he doesn't get the chance to ask.
"Great, let's go." Kurenai leads the way up the stairs this time, reaching the top of the platform quickly and pushing past the people standing around near the railing.
Looking down at the sea of drunken people from up here, San is captivated by the way they all move like an actual ocean as they jump and as the colorful lights shine down on them. It amazes him how just a couple of minutes ago, he too was one of those entranced dancers.
How easily Kurenai was able to seduce him when no one else at these clubs had been able to was what really astounded him. And it didn't help that he could still feel the skin of his lips buzzing from the kiss.
"Kurenai, about that kiss back there—."
"Save it for later, San. There will be plenty of time to talk about this after we get what we came here for so please just do what I ordered you to." She stops him before he can go any further, a painful look overtaking her eyes for a brief moment. "I promise we'll discuss things later. Just focus."
San concedes, looking away disappointedly at being swerved once again. He looks back out over the crowd as Kurenai knocks on the door of Room 33, getting lost in his own thoughts when the door slides open to reveal a lean bodyguard standing in the doorway.
"So it was you." The guard scoffs with a stern voice, glaring down at Kurenai where she stands.
"It's good to see you too, Vael—!" She suddenly vets cut off with a swift punch directed right at her nose, causing her to stumble back into the arms of a startled San who was too late to react.
The guard reaches out right after and grabs the tattooed woman by her neck, roughly squeezing it to make her look at him.
"Why are you here?" He spits in her face, anger rolling off of him in waves. San attempts to step in to rip the man's arms off of her, but she stops him with a wave of her hand, reminding him to stay down. "Answer me!"
"Ugh," Kurenai groans as the guard nears his face to hers, lifting her eyes to look directly into Vael's green ones. "You're breath stinks."
"You bi—!"
"Don't." San finally steps in, managing to grab the fist that Vael had reeled back to strike Kurenai with. Vael stands there stunned and still grabbing onto Kurenai's neck.
He can tell by the look in San's eyes that the man has approached him with murderous intent, making it harder for him to proceed.
"Let go of me, scumbag," Vael orders the mulleted man. San doesn't relent, tightening his grip on Vael's fist.
"You first." The bodyguard surrenders his grip on Kurenai, stepping back when San let's go as well and watching closely while San attends to Kurenai's bloody nose.
"You never answered my question."
"Cut the crap, you know exactly why I'm here." The tattooed woman grits back, flinching when San pinches the bridge of her nose. "So let me in or I'll force my way through."
"Hah," the bodyguard chuckles humorlessly, crossing his arms. "You never change, do you? You stuck-up whore."
"And your still an asshole, what's new?" Vael stares at Kurenai and San for a little bit longer, battling with himself on what to do next.
"God, you're such a pain to deal with." He sighs, moving away from the door to let them in.
San and Kurenai make their way inside, looking around the room to find a woman with neon pink hair dancing seductively on a platform at the center of the room just a couple of feet off of the floor with an o-shaped booth surrounding it. Sitting around the booth are multiple men with their eyes peeled back in lust, carousing and throwing around money with bottles of liquor all around them.
When the dancing woman casts her eyes in their direction, her eyes meet with Kurenai's briefly, and her face changes, messing up her vibe. The woman nods at Vael who clears his throat, grabbing all of the perverted watchers' attentions.
"Excuse me, lads, but I believe your time has run out. Please, exit the room."
"Aw, sonny, we have half an hour left. Don't stress yourself!" One of the drunken men utters with a slur in his voice making the rest break into laughter.
"Oi, I bet he's just jealous we get to spend our time with the Lady." Another man adds in, striking a nerve in Vael which is seen as clear as day on his face.
"Lads, we remember what happened the last time you didn't listen to my orders, don't we?" Vael gives them an unsettling smile, his seemingly light threat having a greater effect on them than they let on.
"L-Let's go, boss. This isn't worth the trouble." A third man advises and they all get up begrudgingly, filing out of the room with their heads bowed down as they walk past Vael. It isn't until the pink-haired woman speaks that San and Kurenai focus their attention on her.
"Sit." The pair feels their bodies moving to obey it. Moving over to sit down in the booth surrounding her stage, Kurenai and San watch as the woman pivots around the pole at the center with eyes closed and a minute smile, humming a tune they just barely catch when she stops abruptly. "Come join me up here, Bambina*."
"Juniper—."
"Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that anymore, it's Lady Succubus to you." Juniper snaps while continuing to dance, not letting it mess up her flow.
"Juniper," Kurenai starts again, emphasizing the name. "Please, don't make me get up there."
"Shut up! You leave me here all alone after promising you'd come back only for me to wonder about you every second of the day for you to show up out of nowhere asking me for a favor?! No, if you want me to even consider doing this for you, you do as I say!" The woman stops dancing to hiss at Kurenai, her green eyes glowing with fury. "And right now, I want you to come up here and dance with me again!"
"I can't."
"And why not?" The woman demands, her fury growing hotter by the second which Vael catches onto. "Why can't you give me this simple wish? I just want to remember our old times. Is that too much to ask for?!" She yells like a madwoman, her eyes drifting over to San who sits next to Kurenai, eyeing the tattooed woman with worry laced into his irises. Juniper scoffs. "Oh, I see. Do you not want your boyfriend to know about the old job you were in before? Is that what it is?"
"No, it's nothing like that." Kurenai glances at San nervously who looks back at her with an inquisitive look, tightening her fists in frustration which only increases when she sees Vael laughing at her distress. "That's not why."
"No, that's exactly why. You don't want him to know that you used to work at The Succubus as a dancer. If you're so ashamed, just say so. I might even be lenient with you—."
"Fine! Fine. I'll join you." Kurenai shoots up irritatedly from her seat, ignoring San completely and wiping the blood still dripping from her nose with her arm.
Juniper watches Kurenai make her way toward the stage with amusement, a small smirk playing at her lips when the tattooed woman reaches her and places a hand on the pole.
"Aish, you poor thing. Did Vael do this to you?" Juniper reaches her hand out to wipe off some blood Kurenai had smudges on her face with her thumb, licking the blood off her finger and humming in delight. "Sweet, as always."
"Stop that." Kurenai scowls, her top lip curling in disgust. "I'm not here to mess around. I'm here to talk to you about the information you might have on—."
"Ugh, you and your business talk, Bambina! You haven't changed a bit." Juniper complains, swinging around the pole and bumping into Kurenai with a faint hand over her head as if mimicking someone fainting. "You're still boring and stuck-up."
"And you're still loud and obnoxious."
"But you enjoy that." Juniper retorts, hugging Kurenai around the waist and resting her head on the other's shoulder. "Did you really only come here for the info? Not for me, too?"
"Why would I? The last time I saw you, you almost cut off my ear." Kurenai reminds her, starting to play along with her game.
"Hm, well then maybe you shouldn't have left me here all alone." Juniper pulls back from Kurenai with a huff, moving away from the platform to where Vael stands with an outstretched arm to help her come down from the platform.
He helps her out on a silk robe to cover up her exposed skin as well, helping her slide her arms into the sleeves. Kurenai watches her move from the platform, eyeing her closely as she walks on over to a table at the corner of the room to pick up a glass that Vael quickly fills with alcohol.
"Tell me, Bambina, why are you really here to see me?" Juniper turns, her slicked-back pink hair moving slightly with her. "If you give a good answer and dance well, I might help you."
Kurenai sighs, hanging her head down. She'll have to play by Juniper's rules if she wants her help. The freaking narcissist. If only it were easier to deal with her maybe she wouldn't have ditched Juniper to begin with, but still, it was a douche-bag move.
"I came here because I know that you have contacts deep within MALUS that wouldn't be reachable from my position as a blacklisted member."
"And?" Juniper goads, sipping on her drink as she takes a seat a little too close to San. Kurenai curses the pink-haired woman in her head.
"And I want to fix our friendship." The tattooed woman stops dancing for a moment, keeping her back facing toward San and Juniper. "I left when you needed me the most. I shouldn't have done that and for that, I'm sorry."
"Oh, come on! Do you really expect her to believe that load of crap?"
"Vael!" Juniper shushes the guard, sending him a glare for good measure as she looks over at San and eyes him. "You're being sincere. That's a first." She keeps her eyes on San as if uncovering his deepest secrets when he notices the small movement in her left eye. That's when he understands. She has a fake eye. "You're quite perceptive, Mr. Choi."
"T-thank you." Her sudden praise comes as a surprise to him, sending a jolt through Kurenai's body at seeing how keen Juniper is. She wasn't lying when she said the woman was sharp. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, I think you know the answer to that." San thinks about it, staring at her left eye that's pupil seems to fizz and reshape every second.
"It's your eye. You have a fake."
"Bravo! I do. It's by far better than any regular eye that's for sure." Juniper jokes with a light laugh, making San nod.
"Does it help you read minds?" She lifts a brow.
"Yes and no. It reads brain waves which can then be interpreted which the eye also does. So I suggest you don't lie to me with the next questions." There's a threatening undertone decorating Juniper's voice, one that instantly catches Kurenai's attention.
"Juniper, this conversation is between me and you." The pink-haired woman lifts a hand to silence Kurenai and she does, keeping her gaze on San's squirming form, and placing her drink aside.
"Relax, I just want to have a chat. From one friend of Kurenai's to the other. Is that alright, Mr. Choi?" San is torn between doing what Kurenai instructed of him earlier and what Juniper is asking.
"S-Sure, it's fine." He replies more as a form of reassurance to Kurenai that he's got everything under control and for his sake, Kurenai hopes he does.
"Good, good. You know, I saw you two kissing for a moment there downstairs before I invited you up."
"It was nothing. She told me it would get your attention if we did, so I did it." San lies through his teeth. Kurenai knows it, that kiss meant much more than just a show. Juniper knows, too. And yet, she stays silent— pensive.
"Well, if that really was just a show I'd love to try those lips for myself. Just watching you put them to work made my heart flutter." Juniper leans forward, lifting a finger to her lips.
"Juniper." Kurenai's voice comes from atop the stage where she stands, her hands balled up into fists. "Lay even one wrong hand on him, and you'll never see it again."
"Ooo, how scary! But I wouldn't, even if I wanted to. Something tells me he's reserved." Juniper redirects her attention to San, laying her head on her arm that's resting on the back support of the booth. "Mr. Choi, Has Kurenai ever spoken of me?"
"Before today, no. She doesn't like talking to the team about her past, but she told me a couple of things just now."
"The team?!" She exclaims. "My little Bambina has a team now? The Meisters reassigned her, didn't they?"
"They did. Were you a subject as well?" He queries, hoping to stay on her good side.
"I was, but when I became blacklisted, I had to get another job. I couldn't find any, so I came to this here club and became a dancer where I climbed the social ladder from customer to customer until I managed to get ahold of a contact that helped me gain the whole establishment. Can you guess who that was?"
"Was it Kurenai?" Juniper's face breaks into a bright smile, her eyes turning into half-moons as she laughs.
"Right again! My, Mr, Choi, you are very keen."
"Wait," San furrows his brow, "Kurenai helped you become the owner of this place?"
"That's right. It used to be called Danny's pub but I decided to change it to 'The Succubus' after my stage name. It gave the title a little pizzazz. Interesting, isn't it? What's even more interesting, is that after I gained this place, Kurenai vanished. Poof! Just like that. It was when I was at my lowest in terms of mental and emotional health and she just left. Even after promising me, she'd stay."
"I said I was sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't cut it."
"Then what will?" Juniper shoots up from where she stands to get closer to Kurenai who's crouched down on the stage. Glaring up at her, she notices the small metal item dangling from the tattooed woman's neck.
Her train of thought is interrupted and she loses what she was going to say at the sight of the metal piece, her once angry expression fading away into a marveled one.
"Where did... Where did you get this?" The pink-haired woman reaches out to grab the item as it dangles from Kurenai's neck but the latter is quicker to react, snatching it up just before Juniper can.
"Aht-aht! Don't touch. Not until you tell me what I want to hear." The two women have a staring contest for what feels like centuries, both their unyielding eyes glaring into the other's stubbornly until one surrenders.
"Vael," Juniper waves a hand, not letting her eyes fall from Kurenai's for even a mere second as she orders her guard around. "Bring me my computer and glasses."
"Yes ma'am," Vael quickly gathers what she's asked of him, moving swiftly to not anger his master further. "Here you go, ma'am." He hands her the items and she slides on her glasses, sitting back down with a serious expression while glaring daggers at Kurenai who's smiling down at her in triumph. "What do you want to know?"
"I have two things I need you to make a deep dive on." Kurenai begins, well aware that Juniper is doing this against her will.
"Just like old times, eh, Bambina? Always using me and never reciprocating my kindness."
"Oh, please, kindness? You've never understood what that meant. I know you're only doing this because you want my ghost key." Juniper snaps her head up to look at Kurenai who's still on the platform, her eyes showing her interest as plain as day.
"Does this mean I'll be getting it?" Kurenai smirks.
"Only if you join me in my plan. I'll be needing your connections."
"You and your stupid tricks. How will I know you won't back out on me again?" Juniper demands, watching Kurenai tilt her head to the side.
"You can turn me into the Meisters if I don't keep my promise." Kurenai wagers, knowing the risks involved.
"Kurenai, you can't possibly be offering what I think you're offering. Are you crazy?!" San suddenly inserts himself, digging his nails into his thighs as he hears her outlandish proposition.
"I know what I'm doing. Besides, I don't plan on going back on my word." Kurenai assures the man but it's of little comfort. She turns back to Juniper. "I don't know if you know this yet, but I've been blacklisted. If I go back on my word and don't give you the key... you and Vael can track me down and hand me over to the Meisters."
"Mm, I like the sound of that." Juniper mulls over the deal, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Just thinking about the connections I can make with MALUS by doing that makes me giddy. It's a deal, then." She extends a hand and Kurenai takes it hesitantly. "Now then, as you were saying earlier about what you need from me—."
"JUNIPER, GET DOWN NOW!" Vael bellows as he lunges toward her, throwing her to the ground as an ear-splitting explosion rips through the air, shaking the building to its core.
Kurenai gets violently thrown off of the platform she was on, crashing against the circular couch so hard that the air gets knocked out of her lungs. She rolls over coughing and gasping for air, tiny spots dancing in her line of sight when she hears someone calling for her in the distance.
"Kurenai!... Kurenai!" She can't tell who it is at first because of the ringing in her ears, but the voice soon became clear enough for her to decipher who it is.
"San, I'm here!" Kurenai shouts back through her coughing fit, trying to move around to get a glimpse of him. All she can see is debris. "Where the hell are you?!"
"I'm right here." The woman feels a pair of warm hands cup her face, forcing her to look into the comforting dark pools of San's eyes. His face is strewn with worry as he searches hers for signs of injury. "Are you hurt? Did you injure yourself? I saw the way you flew off of the stage, it made me worry."
"I'm fine, I swear. Just help me up." San nods, following her instructions and helping her stand up, keeping a sturdy arm around her waist to help her balance herself. She clutches onto his shirt for dear life, looking around the room that's filled with debris and grime for any clues as to what happened. Thankfully, it's cleared up.
"Crap!" Kurenai hears someone else curse from a couple of feet ahead of her, barely making out the form of who it is. "Vael, what the heck?! What's going on?" Juniper demands.
"I got the message from one of our men a split second before the explosion. I think someone got in and laced the place with explosives. My team is working right now on deactivating the others."
"How many bombs are there exactly? And how did they get here?" San asks, walking over with Kurenai to where the other two stand cautiously.
"There are about six bombs so far that we've discovered. As for who put them there, I have no idea."
"I think I have an idea of who." Kurenai furrows her brows, lifting her gaze to meet Vael. "I saw a female bouncer at the entrance which I found odd since I know Vael doesn't employ women. She seemed distantly familiar somehow but I think I know who it was."
"Who?" The other three ask in unison, but Kurenai doesn't get the chance to answer when the door to Room 33 gets kicked in.
"SUBJECT NUMBER 10911505 PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY! FAILURE TO ADHERE WILL RESULT IN HARM TO YOU AND THOSE AROUND YOU!" A loud voice booms from the edge of the door, causing all of their hearts to plummet into the depths of their stomach.
"We're so screwed."
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Hello! So these are some pictures to show how I envisioned Olivia and Lady Succubus to look like. Of course, these beautiful drawings are not mine, so if you know the artists, please tag them or credit them in the comments!
Juniper (Aka Lady Succubus)
Olivia Rodriguez
Once again, thank you for reading my story and I hope you've enjoyed it this far!
- Venus <3