Today, I went out with Reina and bought a nice, fluffy, scarf after school for Midori's birthday tomorrow. Instead of wearing my normal clothes, I did decide to wear more warmer clothing as every passing day seems to only be more cold than the previous.
"It sure it ramping up."
"Mm..."
Reina seemed quite upset during our walk back to our apartment. Of course I realise what it is she's talking about. It's getting close to our "anniversary" of our parents death... It's like the cold wind today is directly attacking our hearts. However-
We both wind up grabbing each other's hands at the same time, as I feel a wave of relief wash over me, as if the frost that was building in my heart has now meted away from her touch, and judging from the look on Reina's face, I bet she feels the same way. But before I could say anything-
"Hey, sis?"
Reina spoke up first.
"Hmm?"
"Why don't we take a detour before heading back?"
"Oh? Do you have some place in mind?"
Looking at her face, I can already answer that question. Her smile alone is a dead give away.
After walking for quite some time, we arrive at a mall. It's quite a familiar mall as I remember coming here with Midori during the time when we were desperately searching for Reina... I haven't came back here ever since.
"Come!"
"Okay~"
Pulled along by her hand, Reina takes me to a nearby shop not too far from the entrance of the mall. And upon reaching the entrance, I notice something quite peculiar.
"Cats?"
"Mhmm! A cat café. This is the place where I work."
"Really?"
"Ah~ Reina~!"
A girl in uniform spotted us as I quickly realize that the girl was actually Kanon who I met not too long ago. To think that this girl looking to be a middle schooler is actually attending university...
"Hey, Kanon."
"I thought I told you to focus on school."
"Ah, It's okay. I just wanted to show sis where I worked."
"Ahh~ Got it. Then why don't you two come in?"
I was thinking that we would take a regular seat in the main dining area, so I was surprised to find that Reina and Kanon was guiding me into the back area which seemed to be some sort of rest area for the staff. The library has a space like this so I'm quite used to it, although I can't help but ask.
"Is it okay for me to be in here?"
"Ah well, we're actually about to close up, and if you two were seated at the front then that might attract more people, thinking that we're open."
"I see..."
"Also here! It's some left over hot fudge that we didn't end up selling."
Free food on top of this? And from the looks of it, the chocolate fudge cake seems to be still steaming. Was this only cooked recently?
"Okay, I got a few more things to do before closing up. You two enjoy~"
As Kanon leaves through the front, the cats all begin to wander inside here. Some seem to head straight for their food bowls whilst a few of them decide to rub up against mine and Reina's legs as we both sat at the table.
"Fufu."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thought it was funny that Charles is coming up to us like this."
I'm assuming Charles would be on of these cats? I follow Reina's gaze as my eyes lock onto a cat with short, floppy ears and a short, stubby tail. I couldn't see much of it's face before the cat decided to leave deeper into another space of the room.
"Is Charles not that affectionate?"
"Hmmm~ Not really. He kind of only focuses on food, fufu."
Sounds a bit like Midori, I thought to myself.
"You see, he was originally living as a stray on the streets. Kanon told me that her mother found him laying down on day, all skin and bones. She rescued him and brought him here for adoption."
"Adoption?"
"You see, this café is actually not just a café, but people can also adopt some of the cats here as well. Most of the cats are at the animal shelter though that Kanon's mom runs."
"Woah."
"I know, right?"
"So, have anyone taken any of the cats home yet?"
"Not yet, or well at least since I arrived. But I hear that they frequently get people adopting from the animal shelter. Most people who come here mostly wants to relax and eat rather than adopting, hehe."
Makes sense. You go to a café to eat and drink, you go to an animal shelter to adopt a pet, but to think that Kanon's family is running both at the same time. It's starting to make sense to me-
"So in a way, they also 'adopted' you at that time, haha."
"Sis~"
"Pfft."
I can joke about it now, knowing that my sister is safe and sound now. But I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience for Reina, being all alone, stuck with that man. I didn't stay there long when I was impersonating as my sister, but I knew everything I needed to know. With that thought in mind, I reach out to Reina's free hand as we both stop eating the cake in front of us.
"Sis?"
"I'm not letting you out of my sight again."
"..."
She stays silent, instead simply smiling as she tightens her hold on my hand.
"Mm. Neither will I."
We share a gaze with one another for a few more moments before going back to finish off the hot fudge cake.
Meanwhile...
So this is the place?
I double check the address for the "Purple Palace" and sure enough, it should be here. But what kind of area is this? I don't even see a sign or anything. Did I just get fooled? Wanting to triple check, I walk around the nearby area, seeing if I find anything, but with barely any place having signs, I'm not sure where to even start. However-
That's when I stumble upon a set of stairs leading down into some sort of basement-like place not too far away from where I was, tucked away from any passers-by. It's so hidden that you could only see this entrance when looking at it from this angle. If I were to come here the opposite way, I would've seen it just fine. At the bottom of the stairs, there's a bright, glowing sign, shining bright purple with pink effects; "Purple Palace."
"So it's down here..."
Taking a deep breathe, I walk down the stares, towards the door surrounded by concrete. With each step down, I felt like the gravity grew heavier, almost like as if there's no turning back as the weight of it all kept pushing me deeper towards the door. Was it the sweet, inviting smell coming from the door? Or was it my desire to become independent like Luna? Maybe a mixture of both? Either way, I knew I needed a way to support myself, along with my brother and sister, and this is the only place that offered me a job no matter how long I searched. Before I knew it, I was at the door.
I knock on the door gently and in just a few moments, the door opens, as a wave of sweetness enters my lungs, almost suffocating to an extent. The bright lights inside brought a stark contrast to the dark and dreary atmosphere from outside.
"Yes? What business do you have here?"
There stood a tall man, wearing a suit and glasses similar to the business man that originally approached me for this job. Only this man seemed to be a lot more intimidating, and much taller... My voice fails to come out as I'm stuck staring up at the behemoth of a figure when suddenly-
"Ahh~ Move aside! She's with us!"
All of a sudden, A woman came up from behind the man as he quickly moved aside, obeying the woman's order without question. The woman herself seems something out of a different world. A long, elegant dress, with a slit on the side, allowing her to quickly make her way over to us, not to mention how revealing her clothes are. Her hair was done up in such a way that I've never seen before. The braids alone must've taken hours to do, let alone doing it up in such a way, exposing her neck. Is she a super model or something? These thoughts race through my mind as I wonder where in the hell I am.
"You're the new talent, right? We spoke on the phone."
Snapping out of it, my face lights up. Now that she mentions it, her voice does sound similar, but what she said just now was quite strange.
"T-talent?"
"Mhmm! Come. This way."
She reached out her hand to me as I instinctively reach out, as if I too can't disobey her orders just like that man. She takes me by the hand, pulling me inside this place as the man gently closes the door behind us. But my mind is still stuck wondering where exactly am I as I can't help but look around the place as I'm being pulled along.
The whole place, even the walls seemed far too luxurious to be in such a place as that dreary neighbourhood. The term: "Finding a diamond in the rough" would be the perfect way to describe such a place.
"So? What's your name?"
"Eh? Uhm, Nicole."
I wound up accidentally letting my real name slip out during our walk, but before I could say anything-
"Is that your real name?"
"Huh?"
Wait, did she suspect me to use a fake name? Was my blunder just now actually a good thing?
"Fufufuu~ Well don't worry about that for now. We can figure that out later. My name's Jasmine by the way."
"Jasmine... Is 'that' you're real name?"
"Hehe. Who knows~"
Despite her overflowing with womanly charms, she seems almost like a child with how playful she's acting. Could it all be just an act, just like the fake names?
"...So then, what exactly is the job here?"
"Like I said on the phone, we serve customers."
"Yes, but in what way exact-ly?"
The moment we reached a curtain, Jasmine opened up to reveal a wide open room that is not in any way less luxurious as the hallway we were just walking through. There was a bar that some men were at, being served drinks, and there were tables which had both men and woman casually chatting.
"A bar?"
"Fufu, not exactly. Come along."
At her call, I found myself sticking a bit closer to her as several men and women turned their heads towards me, some of them opting to stare at me, wondering where I'm heading.
"It's alright. I'll be your proxy here, so try and relax."
"Proxy?"
"Think about it like a guardian. You're new here, so you need someone to take the reigns. I'll be handling your work and so on."
"Like a mediator?"
"Kind of. Here. You see that girl over there behind the bar serving drinks? The one with the red hair?"
"Yeah."
"She's that girl's proxy, the one next to her currently serving a customer. That girl is still a bit timid so her proxy arranged her to serve drinks for now, giving her a chance to socialize with our clientele."
"And the clientele being?"
"The men you see here. Well, we do also get some women as well, but it's mostly men. You can tell who's our clients by the masks they wear. It's sort of a policy here."
Jasmine explained as we continued to walk around, but it was then that an energetic girl came running towards us.
"Jazzy~"
The girl flung her arms around Jasmine, causing Jasmine to let go of my hand.
"Hey hey, Are you sure you should be here?"
"Mhmm! I just finished up."
The girl says as a man walks past us from the same direction the girl just came from. From the looks of it, there seems to be other rooms connected back there...
"Good."
"Ah? Wait, who's this cutie?"
Is she talking to me?
"Well she doesn't have a name yet."
"Oh, well my name's Vix! Nice to meet ya."
"Nice to meet you..."
This girl, Vix, it's clear that it's not her real name, but she too seems far too beautiful. Her hair isn't as elegant as Jasmine as she wears more of a casual look in comparison, but that still doesn't change the fact that she's absolutely stunning. As someone who wants to be in the beauty business in the future, I can't help but notice how flawless her makeup is and the dye on the lengths of her hair made quite a contrast to the rest of her hair, not to mention it perfectly matches her dress. It's like she dyed her hair to match her dress or vice versa.
"Heheee~ So? You coming off break, Jazzy?"
"I was, but our friend here needs a tour."
"Oooh? Is today my chance to finally overtake you?"
"Like I said a million times, I don't care about that. Anyway, if you'll please excuse us."
With her final words, Jasmine gently grabbed me by the hand as I was left wondering what was happening as a several questions piled up in my head.
"Sorry about that. Vix can be a handful, but she means well."
"R-right..."
We soon arrived at an empty booth as we both sat down as I'm able to oversee everything that we passed, including the bar, the many other booths and tables filled with men and women.
"So, I'm sure you have questions. Feel free to ask away before we continue. My legs need a rest as well, fufu."
"Okay... So... What exactly do you people do here?"
"Well, like I, said we serve customers. That would include serving them drinks, attending to their needs whether it be having dinner with them like you see over there. Basically whatever the client wants, as long as it's reasonable, we offer those services."
When I imagine serving customers, I imagined something akin to simple retail jobs. But this seemed to be on a whole other level.
"So the service is tailored to the specific individual?"
"Correct."
I can't help but feel a bit excited. Maybe this was the perfect chance to get some hands on experience!
"You said there's also women that come here as clients?"
"Mhmm- oh? Is 'that' what you're into?"
"I guess?"
Well, I guess men can also get their nails done, and make up too, but I guess women would be more common. I think I'd rather serve women than men.
"Hmmm~ Interesting. It's quite rare to find girls who are as open as yourself."
Jasmine seemed to be eyeing me up quite differently than before, almost as if she's evaluating me. In a few moments, she beams a smile at me, leaving me clueless to what it meant.
"So then, Nicole. What exactly brought you here?"
I thought for a moment, wanting to make sure I don't say something that might ruin this chance.
"Well, I have a brother and sister to take care of, so I wanted a job that could pay well enough to support them if only a little."
Of course my brother and sister would be supported by my parents, but I needed to lie like this to sound a bit more "mature."
"I see~ That's very noble of you. Wanting to support your family."
"What about you?"
"Me? Ahh well. It's a long story, don't worry about it. I'd rather try and not talk about it, haha."
She wore quite a complicated expression, choosing not to hide her discomfort. Could the reason she's here be something bad? But given her expression, I better not continue further.
"So... you said that there's not many people open to serving women?"
"Well, there's many factors, but generally yes. Men tend to pay more so the girls here tend to flock over to the men. But even so, I think I've seen maybe two girls here that have done so?"
So there's at least two people here that might be interested in the same thing as me?
"Wh-who are they?"
"Well, that red haired girl behind the bar I talked about earlier? She's one of them."
Looking far back to the bar, the red haired woman seems quite intimidating. Sharp eyes, short hair. Seems a bit too intimidating, and actually, I'm wondering if a woman like her would even be interested in beauty stuff. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover though...
"So then, who's the other one?"
"...That would be me."