Shikkun City

She placed her ears on, grabbed her bag with Panda in it, and nodded. She locked her door and walked with Haru back down the alley. "If you are willing, I could teach you. I mean I am the best in my class. I go to the Uni and my classes aren't until later, but I get out early enough to have a lot of free time. I think I can managed to give up a few ours to give you lessons. There is always a GED." She said matter-of-factly.

Her red hair shined like a red apple in the sun. She stepped over puddles and glanced up at Haru's old home. "I think you will like Miss Kelbs. She is super sweet and easy going. She has no husband or kids...she expects you to try your best and understands people have bad days, but you should always find the good in it." Ava smiled and poked his arm. She wouldn't bring up the escort thing even though her curiosity was getting the best of her. They passed the grocery shop and then a clothing shop. Her eyes darted between the shop and Haru. "Get in the damn store."

"That would be nice, but I need the actual documentation of going to school, or at least the GED. I've gone through a few old textbooks over the years, and I've spent some time in the libraries, at least."

In contrast to Ava, Haruka's hair didn't necessarily shine but instead displayed a warm chestnut color. "Sounds a little like someone else I used to know." He noticed the clothing store when he walked by, but paid it no attention until Avaron suddenly ordered him to enter. "Uh, okay," he shrugged and turned towards the front door.

"Why are we going in?"

"Well getting a GED isn't hard...maybe I shouldn't comment on that. If you need docs I can get you docs." She said as she walked in the store with him. The girls working looked at them, but mostly him, and blushed. She ignored him and drug him to the guy section. "Pick 7 shirts, 7 pants, 3 pair of shoes, some socks, and please some underwear. We BOTH know you don't have anything under those sweats." She said, ignoring the stupid girl blushing behind the rack. "I will be in the women's section if you need." Ava waved a hand as she walked to the other side of the store.

She eyed a few shorts and a couple non-flashy shirts and grabbed them, not trying them on she kept walking around.

Haruka blushed slightly shamefully at all of the attention from the strangers. He was convinced that at least some of them knew who he was, and he was pretty sure at least one or two of them could have been old clients. He went back to the task at hand, gathering several of the assorted clothes Ava listed.

A few trips to the changing room and several minutes later, he had everything he needed. Granted, he had to go to the women's clothes section for some of his shirts and pants due to his figure, but everything he picked was either somewhat masculine or suitably unisex.

He eventually ran back into Ava, at which point he briefly showed each of the items he picked out.

"Does all of this work?"

She flailed she she heard his voice. She had a pair of blue undies in her hand. Shoving them back into the bin she turned around and looked at him. Ava looked at all the clothes and shoes. "Nice, so you actually have a sense of style. Thank god. Hah.." She quickly said, blushing. "We...we can check out, yeah." She grabbed the things she actually wanted and led him to the register. The girls behind one of the registers looked at Haru.

"Don't I know you...oh right you ar-." She was interrupted.

"No, you don't." Ava said, her voice harsh. She paid the lady and grabbed Haru's hand. "Let's go. We have to get to work."

"Thanks," he gave a small smile and quietly followed Ava to the cash register. He blushed and looked away when the girl actually recognized him, only to be yanked away and dragged out of the store by his new landlord. Once outside, he had control of his movements again and walked alongside her, but his hand was still firmly held in her grasp, and she seemed to have little intention of letting go.

"So, will I have to wear one of those maid outfits, or do they have separate uniforms for guys?" Haruka would likely accept whatever they ask him to wear, but knowing ahead of time was usually a good idea.

Ava was annoyed by how open someone would be for hiring a prostitute. "Does she even know how she looks now? Bitch.." She thought. She could see the corner of the cafe from where they were now, but had to stop because the sign had the hand up for them to stop walking.

His question about him wearing a maid's outfit made her laugh out loud. She turned to him, "No silly, unless you want to!" She couldn't stop laughing. Once she calmed down, the sign said to walk. Tugging on his hand again she her way to the cafe. "Guys were server suits. Look kind of like a little butler...with ears." She said as they enter the cafe from the back. Some staff looked at her and the boy before looking at their hands. She let go nonchalantly and faced him. "Are you ready?" She asked.

"I guess it's up to the owner then," he kept behind her as she entered the cafe, avoiding looking at any of the other staff for too long. He wasn't an employee yet, so any wrong move might get him kicked out for trespassing. He looked at her and shrugged.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

She nodded and took the stuff to a locker, placing it in gently. Digging through them she grabbed one of his shirts, jeans, and shoes and gave them to him. "Go change into these and give me my clothes when I am done, then I will go and let you meet the boss." She said, showing him the bathroom. "Also, take the beanie off." She whispered.

"Alright alright," Haruka sighed and scooped the pile of clothes from Ava's arms. He turned towards the bathroom and entered, locking the door behind him.

He began to work on unbuttoning his pants, but stopped. The teenager leaned against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor and holding his head in his hands.

"It's all the same," Yukimura murmured to himself, looking down at the bland mosaic tile under him. Changing in bathrooms to meet new employers and customers. Being given clothing to wear. Having a job that relied on his looks, his ability to please others, and his modifications. At the thought of such, he grabbed onto the end of his tail and brought it in front of his face. A chill ran up his spine with even the lightest of touches along the semi-prehensile limb; the nerves used in the implant were almost too sensitive for their own good.

"So this is what I've become again. I thought I could get away." No matter how far he ran, how often he cut his hair, or who he met, nothing was going to change.

First I'll work and get tips for my looks. Soon, the boss'll make me wear tighter clothes to bring in more customers. Before I realize it, I'll be working out back for 'massages' again, being a rent boy. Then it'll become every day, no more working in the cafe itself. If I don't do a good enough job I'll get 'the room' again, and master will be upset, and when master is upset, I get the medicine..

Haruka found his head in his hands, curled in the fetal position against the wall. Tears streamed down his wrists, past the assortment of scars along his arms, each one seemingly from a different source from the irregularities in the marks. For the first time in a long time, the boy wept. For several minutes, he let himself go, no facade to put up, nobody to hide from.

"I don't wanna go back, I don't wanna go back, I don't wanna go back," he repeated endlessly, barely forcing the words out past his sobs. After a few dozen repetitions, his babbling became unintelligible, until he gave up and returned to trying to breathe.

"N-no. I won't," Haruka sniffed and wiped his face. "If this is who I am, so be it. If they want to take me back, then let them fucking try."

Yukimura looked to the pair of fresh clothes, and changed into them. He no longer felt dirty and exposed, possibly out of sheer indignance. "They already took so much of my life, I won't surrender the rest of it."

Once dressed, he wiped his somewhat-red eyes with the beanie. He emerged, his old clothes folded in a neat pile in his arms, with the hat gently laid on top. His ears were standing up at attention, and his tail trailing behind him instead of being tucked in his pants.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Ava waited outside of the bathroom, leaning on the wall next to the door she said her hellos to the people that walked by. She was tempted to go in there to see what was taking so long, but she didn't know if she could handle that in such an open place. It had to be around five minutes or so when he decided to come out. Pushing herself away from the wall she turned on her heels and looked him over. He was super cute. Her cheeks flushed lightly until she saw his face. Leaning in she whispered, "Are you okay? She is really super nice, so you don't have to be scared. And I promise you don't have to wear a maid's outfit." She was concerned.

"Yeah yeah, I'm alright. And really, if she wants me to wear the silly maid outfit, I'll go with it. As long as I'm being paid for honest work at the end of the day, I can deal with it," Haruka gave a pained smile. He really didn't care about his assigned uniform, whether or not the previous breakdown involved such a thing in a small way. After all, this was different. A weird coincidence at best.

"I just, uh, had some issues to deal with. I'll be okay, I promise. Now, let's meet this lady."

She smiled a small, concerned smiled, but nodded and grabbed his hand. She lead him through the to the back again and escaped into a hall with a few rooms. The second on the right was the boss lady's room. She knocked softly and heard some things bang around before a soft "come in" came. Ava went into the room , boy in hand, and smiled her big innocent smile. "I found this cute kitten outside last night and knew he would fit the job perfectly." She said, watching a white cat jump from the desk, pass her up, and rub against the boy's leg.

"Oh my, look how adorable he is. And those ears, come in come in! What is your name, son?" She spoke softly. Her brown eyes shinning as she took him in, forgetting Ava was even in the room.

Haruka almost immediately noticed the cat, picking it up and holding it in the crook of his elbow to scratch its belly. He raised an eyebrow at the lady, his ears pivoting and lifting to signal curiosity and attentiveness.

"Haruka Yukimura, ma'am. I'm applying for a job here, came in for the application about a week ago," he plopped the neatly organized stack of papers on her desk, turning the pile to face her.

"And yes, Ava is letting me stay with her, partly because she already works here."

Miss Kerbs took the stack and looked carefully. "Hmm...." She hummed before looking at him. She looked back at the papers and sighed. "I am sorry....but I am going to need Ava to get you a suit and shoes because you are hired." She laughed softly. In the back you can hear a sigh of slight annoyance from Ava. She didn't find that funny at all.

"If you need anything ask Ava...if someone is messing with you get Ava. See Ava might look sweet and inncocent, but she can kick some booty. She did so just last week because some man tried to lay a hand on one of our workers. We take our employee's safety seriously. I know what you were in the past, but I won't judge you buy it. We all have some darkness in our past." With that she clapped her hands and started typing slowly in her computer. "Shoo shoo, people are dying to look at you two beauties."

Ava, once more grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him down the hall to the closet room where their uniforms are. "Find your size, you can change in the same bathroom. Put your regular clothes in the same locker and meet me by the cash register. I will show you the ropes okay?" She asked, staring at him.

"I can handle myself ma'am. I uh, cannot confirm or deny that there are people in this very city that have attacked me and are now coincidentally missing fingers, hands or tongues," he gave a sly wink and a smug grin at his statement.

"Thank you ma'am, I guess you could see why I may have been a little hesitant for the job. Bad memories and all that," what Avaron may not have known was that Haruka had walked by the cafe almost every day for a little over a month, but only actually went in for the application in the past week.

In a whirlwind of being pulled around, Yukimura found himself eventually in the uniform closet. "Alright, let me do that."

It took a surprising level of searching to find the right set of clothes, his thin torso and slightly wider hips made sizing tricky. But, luckily enough, there were enough pieces that fit him, and he carried the set back to the bathroom.

He returned to Ava in his new uniform: the whole outfit fit him comfortably, but his pants were notably form-fitting, the garment hugging his legs and hips in a stark contrast to the somewhat looser and more comfortable dress shirt and vest.

"So, how do I look?"

Ava turned around and gave a whistle, "I can say goodbye to my tips." She laughed softly. She handed him a pen and a small notebook. People were starting to come in, some looking at the lovely maids and butler, and some looking at the both of them. "Alright since it is your first day on the job you are going to get the easy table. That means, 1 or 2 people at a spot. Groups leave to us. Once I see you are doing okay you can move to bigger fish. If anyone touched you appropriately please don't break their arms, come to me and I will drop what I am doing and handle it." She patted his shoulder.

A couple of girls came in and she tugged his sleeve gently. "Take those two. The right side of the cafe is yours. So seat them where they want." With that she rubbed his ear softly before running off and doing her job. She laughed and smiled while taking orders.

"I guess you'll just have to try a little harder," Haruka provided a smirk and sauntered off to greet the two girls.

"Welcome to Chez-chat, mes dames," the boy's ears flicked visibly and he waved them into the cafe. He led them to one of the tables towards the front of the store, laying down two menus at either place. Both girls blushed slightly as he turned to them, which he only responded to with a wolfish grin.

"May I get you ladies anything to drink?"

His borderline-flirty interaction with the girls left them giggling and enamored, and before long they were ordering drinks, appetizers, meals and even desserts. It didn't help their case that, whenever he walked away from the table, his gait would suddenly pick up extra sway and flair.

They eventually finished as much as they could of their food, though the portions did not suffer nearly as much damage as their wallets did. Though, when he finally took the bill (alongside their more than generous tip), he waltzed back behind the counter to wait for the next customer, calling to the girls with a "Come back soon~!" and a wink.

A young man in a black leather ensemble strode across the street, smoking a cigarette with his hands in his pockets. A long silver chain hung off his belt over his right thigh, and attached to the lowest loop was skull wrought of steel. A necklace with a long canine tooth wrapped around his neck, and his amber eyes burned with energy. His expression however, was one of boredom. Nothing fun had happened for him since moving to this sleepy town of losers and lacklusters, and he was getting tired of it.

This mans name was Marcus, and that was synonymous with trouble. He glanced around the streets looking for something to do, a bit of mischief to get into.

Ava had fun watching the girls swoon over Haru, but now her attention was on the emo looking guy walking across the street. She couldn't let it bother her since people were coming in left and right. Once the people started to dwindle down and it became closing time she made her way over to the cat boy. "So, how was it? I didn't see you cry...so there is a plus." She laughed, patting his back.

"Whatever," Haru huffed at Ava's comment. "I mean, I have enough experience in a similar industry, might as well call on what I do know. I need a drink," he leaned back and stretched, several of his bones popping before wandering towards the bar counter. His delicate hand snatched up a drink menu as he began to peruse his options, quickly flipping to the spirits section.

Her eye twitched at what he said. She watched him go to the bar and flip through their drink menu. She slowly walked up to him and snatched the menu out of his hand. "You are not 20." She said simply and put the menu back. "I guess they let you do that at your other job, but you follow our rules." She said matter of factly, pushing her hair out of her face as she took her ears off. She rubbed behind her ears. "Besides, you can get us all in trouble if you do. Don't be so selfish." Ava said before walking in the back to change.

"It wasn't a job, Ava," Haruka glared, recoiling away and flattening his ears. "I didn't get to go home after my shift was done. I'm sorry that booze is how I can forget that little fact just for a little while, okay?" He growled, following her to the locker to retrieve his clothing.

"And don't fucking call me selfish, goddammit. I know exactly why you brought me in. I could hear you."

He pulled open the locker and took his clothing.

"You weren't in it for charity!"

He slammed the locker shut and stormed off to the bathroom. Should Avaron try to follow him, she would only find his dress clothes neatly folded on the toilet, and not a sign of the feline boy.

Avaron fought hard to roll her eyes. She wasn't exactly the sympathetic one in a bunch. Not like she really knew how to be since her parents were like robots. She didn't even notice he was gone till one of the worked brought his suit out. She stuffed it in her bag and grabbed the rest of the clothes and started to walk home. She passed down the alley way, stopped by where she first met him, and stared up. She couldn't hear anything so she walked off, "I think he left some stuff at my house..." She said to herself as she kept going. Turning on her street she sighed happily, "My damn arms are killing me." She nearly yelled as she huffed up the street.

When Avaron reached her home, she would find the front door unlocked and ajar, with several lights on, namely those around the kitchen and dining room.

At the countertop sat Haruka, hunched over a glass tumbler and a short bottle in a paper bag. A small sliver of amber liquid remained in the glass, but almost half of the bottle was empty when the catboy removed it from the bag and took a swig from it directly.

He didn't bother turning towards her unless she approached.