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archived-kin · 4 years ago

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one thousand and one nights with you (is not enough to spend)

note from kin: the title is from that song in twisted by starkid, but that’s about as far as the similarity goes

anyway you’re visionless and basically run a little witch shop in mondstadt, with flowers and cool gemstones and mysterious powders and potions and stuff. albedo gets a lot of his alchemy ingredients from you (also he’s dating you but not a lot of people know that)

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn! reader, albedo, plus a surprise venti cameo

pairing(s): albedo/reader

warning(s): i don’t know albedo that well so he might be ooc? also this is so cheesy it’s a little ridiculous

genre: fluff

“I’ll be going now, boss!”

You smile and return your assistant’s cheery goodbye wave as he disappears off into the night outside, freshly-filled coin pouch jingling at his hip. As the door swings shut with quiet click, your surroundings fall into quietude.

The candles keeping the room lit are beginning to burn down to stumps, throwing most of your shelves into shadow. You take a sip from the steaming cup sitting on your counter, then stand up to begin taking inventory and closing up shop.

The silence is comforting after such a long day. You’re not entirely sure what brought on the sudden increase in customers, given that your shop is tucked away in a quiet little corner of Mondstadt that not many tend to linger around. That had been a deliberate choice, and so was the lack of advertising - your speciality is the individual, not the crowd.

Still, you can’t say that it isn’t nice to have the increased income. More profit means better wages for your assisstant - and more Mora to buy even more cool things to stock.

You pass about an hour ambling around your shop, rearranging your products and making sure that everything is in order. Then, just as the bat-shaped clock on the wall chimes one o’clock, the bell above the front door jingles, and you hear quiet footsteps enter.

You don’t pay it any mind at first, instead focusing on rearranging the little bottles of various dusts and extracts on one of the ingredients shelves. A hand settles on the small of your back, and you feel the new arrival’s presence come to a stop beside you.

“We’re out of powdered lizard tail,” You say without looking at him.

A pause. Then a quiet chuckle. “That’s how you want to start the night?”

You smirk. “The night started a good while ago, darling.”

Albedo sighs as you turn to face him, though his soft smile betrays his faux-exasperation. “I did tell you I’d be late today.”

“You tell me that you’ll be late every day,” You reply, sliding one final bottle of powdered crystalfly into place, then move over to sit on your front counter. He follows, settling just beside you.

“I have a lot of things that need attending to,” He shrugs, leaning over and snatching your drink without asking. You shake your head, but let him take a sip from it anyway.

His eyes flicker up to look at you over the rim of the mug. “...though, of course, you’re the most important one.”

You laugh and bat at his shoulder. He doesn’t make any effort to avoid it, eyes twinkling as you smile. “Why not come round more often if I’m so important, huh?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t if I could?” He asks with a scoff, setting down the mug and gently nudging you in the side. “We both have jobs, [Name]. We need to actually do them.”

“Oh, I know that,” You return his nudge and hop down from the counter again. Albedo sighs a little at your restlessness, but follows as you swipe the keys from your drawer and open the door again. “But it doesn’t hurt to take a day off every now and then.”

“I’ve already taken far more in the last month than is reasonable,” Albedo says with a shake of his head, stepping out into the street at your indication and waiting as you shut and lock the door. “Grandmaster Jean will get suspicious.”

“Psh,” You dismiss, waving a whimsical hand about and nearly knocking the sign off of your door. “Why is it that you’re not telling her about us, again?”

“She doesn’t exactly like you,” He says, absently linking his hand with yours as the two of you begin walking aimlessly in no direction in particular. He’s removed his gloves, you notice. “You did set up shop without permission when you first got here.”

“Ah, right…” Now that you think about it, you seem to remember her shooting you a rather nasty look when you passed her in the street last week. Why she continues to hold a grudge is lost on you - after all, you did get the necessary documentation and everything eventually… though, to be fair, the method you used wasn’t exactly legal. “...well, forget her. What do you want to do tonight?”

“Hmm,” He swings your linked hands about for a moment. “I saw a lot of dandelions growing just outside the walls earlier. Why don’t we go pick some seeds?”

“If you want to pick dandelion seeds, why not ask Sucrose?” You ask as he begins leading you in the direction of the main gate. “She’s the one with the Anemo vision.”

“Sucrose?” Albedo repeats, turning his head to look at you. His irises almost seem to glow in the darkness of the night, brighter than any of the stars above - it’d be unsettling if it wasn’t so beautiful. “Why would I want to go seed-picking with her?”

You raise an eyebrow. “...well, I’m assuming you need them for an experiment, and Anemo-blown sunflower seeds are always far more effective in that area.”

“If I needed them for an experiment, I’d just buy them from your shop,” He shakes his head. “This isn’t an ingredient hunt. This is different - it’s special.”

“Special how?” You question as the two of you walk through the gate. Albedo guides you over to a particularly thick cluster of dandelions just a few feet away, nestled in a lush copse of grass.

“Special… like you.” He cups both his hands around one of yours, the one that he’d been holding just before, and guides it over to one of the tallest plants. “Go on, show me that trick again.”

You laugh a little at his almost childish inflection, but do as he requests anyway. Albedo pulls his hands away from yours and watches as you carefully pluck off the head of the dandelion without disturbing any of its fluff-topped seeds, allowing it to rest on the tips of your fingers.

“There’s no trick to having a delicate hand,” You say as he watches your every move with the utmost concentration. “It just takes practice.”

Carefully securing the little bit of stem left at the bottom of the dandelion head between your index finger and thumb, you slowly raise your hand so that it’s suspended just above Albedo; he ducks his head a little, closing his eyes as you bring up your other hand to ever-so-gently flick the seeds from the head. The seeds drift about in the still night air for a brief moment before landing in Albedo’s blonde hair; their white colour is barely distinguishable against it.

He opens his eyes again as you pull your hands down again, lifting his head slowly so as not to disturb the little decorations you’ve added to it. “...so what did you grant me this time?”

“A good night’s sleep,” You say playfully. “As the seeds are carried away on the wind, so too will all your worldly burdens be blown away.”

He shakes his head, and several seeds are dislodged by the motion, vanishing quickly into the night. “If only it were that easy.”

“Hey, it worked last time,” You counter, sitting down in the grass. Albedo follows suit, reaching out and plucking a dandelion of his own - though with a lot less deftness than you did.

“That wasn’t the dandelions,” He says plainly, blowing lightly on the dandelion and watching the fluff disperse and disappear into the dark. “I just sleep more soundly when you’re beside me.”

You chuckle. “Sweet talker. So you’d sleep like a baby if I was around all the time, then?”

“Perhaps I would half the time,” He answers, smiling in a way that tells you that he knows exactly how sappy what he’s about to say is. “But I wouldn’t sleep nearly as well for the other half. I’d be too busy looking at you.”

Despite already knowing that it was coming, you can’t help but feel your heart flutter slightly at his proclamation. “I could say the same about. Bet you’ve broken a good few hearts with looks like that.”

“Then so be it,” He shrugs, eye-lids falling a little as he gives you a devilish little smirk. “Yours is the only one I care about.”

“When did you get so charming?” You flick him in the nose, effectively wiping off the smug look on his face. “Have you been studying love poems or something?”

“Love poems aren’t really my area,” He says, drawing back and rubbing at his nose a little reproachfully. “But Lisa and Kaeya have been giving me plenty of tips on my… 'romantic endeavours’, as they say.”

“Those two…” You shake your head. Kaeya and Lisa managed to find about your relationship with Albedo almost as soon as he’d confessed to you, though luckily they’d agreed to try not to mention it around Jean. “Have those tips been working?”

“Isn’t that a question for you to answer?” He picks another dandelion and blows it directly at you. “Is your heart being stirred?”

“Not while you’re blowing seeds into my face, it isn’t,” You shield yourself with one hand, pushing it in front of Albedo’s face to obscure his field of vision. “Quit it!”

He does drop the dandelion at your request, but, unusually, doesn’t give you a verbal response. You’re just thinking that he must be planning something when he suddenly leans forward and kisses the centre of your palm.

You immediately pull your hand back, feeling yourself heat up. Albedo leans forward, cocking his head to the side with a smile. “What about now?”

“You’re insufferable,” is your only reply.

Albedo’s smile turns into another smirk. He knows exactly what he’s doing. “I’m yours.”

“Mine, now? How nice,” You say, still trying to act unbothered. You can tell it isn’t working, though. “Am I allowed to get a refund if you don’t work as expected?”

“Would you ever want to return me?” Albedo counters. You can’t exactly say yes - that’s both mean and untrue - so you just sigh and shake your head. He smiles, clearly pleased.

You’re about to say something else when you hear a series of uneven footsteps coming from the gate. It doesn’t sound like a Knight of Favonius on patrol - in fact, it sounds more like a drunkard.

Albedo shuffles a little closer to you as a figure stumbles out of the gates. It’s someone you vaguely recognise by their green clothes - the bard who often plays in front of the statue of Barbatos. He’s holding a bottle that’s already half-empty, and you have a feeling that he’s already had a lot more before it.

The bard looks over at you and Albedo, and while you doubt he can recognise your faces what with both the darkness and the distance, it’s obvious enough that the two of you aren’t just a pair of good buddies hanging out. He raises the bottle in your direction with a hiccup.

“Wonderful night to meet a lover!” He calls, voice ringing so loudly that you’re sure that he just woke up a few residents of the city. “May your relationship last long as the wind blows!”

He doesn’t wait for a response before beginning to stumble his way across the bridge. As he goes, he exclaims to no one in particular, “The air is crisp tonight! Such good wine - what a wonderful city!”

He quickly disappears into the darkness. You exchange looks with Albedo. “...how much do you think he drank?”

“Far too much,” He replies amusedly. “He’ll regret it come morning.”

“And it isn’t too far off now,” You say, checking your pocket watch. “Will you be heading back to headquarters tonight?”

He considers, then shakes his head. “I don’t have anything that’ll need attention tomorrow morning. So, if you’ll have me…”

He doesn’t finish, but you already know what he’s asking. “There’s always room for you to stay over - you should know that by now, shouldn’t you?”

He smiles a little bashfully at that, and nods. “I suppose so… thank you.”

“You might as well move in at this point,” You comment, shifting slightly on the spot and patting at his arm. He holds his hand out obligingly, and you thread your fingers through his. “You’ve left at least three sets of pyjamas over already.”

Albedo opens his mouth to respond, and you shake your head, placing the index finger of your free hand to his lips to shush him. “Yeah, yeah, I got it, Grandmaster Jean’ll get suspicious…”

He blows on your finger to get you to retract it. When that doesn’t work, he pretends to bite at it, which is a lot more effective. “...I will tell her eventually. Just not now.”

“While you’re on the rocks,” You say with a nod, squeezing his hand. He sighs and nods as well. “But I still don’t think she’d fire you over who you’re dating.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t want to get any more on her bad side,” He mumbles. “She’s still annoyed about that floor I melted.”

“Didn’t you tell her that I was the one who made you drop the potion?” You ask, thinking back to that particular day - when you’d learnt that Albedo is very susceptible to your flirting when he’s in the middle of an experiment.

He shakes his head with a chuckle. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate me tattling. Besides, it isn’t like she punished me.”

“Well, you’re basically untouchable at the end of the day,” You comment, lying back in the grass and pulling Albedo with you. “It’s them who need you, not the other way around.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” He says, adjusting himself so that the two of you are pressed flush against each other. “If I hadn’t started working for them, we’d never have met.”

“We would have crossed paths eventually,” You say, smiling coyly when he turns his head to face you. “Though better sooner than later, I suppose.”

“Far better sooner,” He says, returning your smile with a much softer one. “I’m glad we did.”

Another dandelion seed drifts out of his hair and lands in the grass as you look at him. You'll be keeping this one for a long time, you decide. Probably forever. You like him.

You think he likes you, too.

#unedited #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin albedo #albedo x reader #fluff #i don't know what else to tag #uhhh #sappy #albedo's hair is so hard to draw for some reason #something about the gif for this one feels off and idk what #i'll come back to it later

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heartofsnark · 6 years ago

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Black Market Wonderland (Chapter Four): The Game is Not Played Alone

Notes: We get some Eisuke POV in this one, which hopefully doesn’t suck. Pov switches wont be like extremely common, but I do want to do them when I think it benefits the plot or just to occasionally switch it up. If it’s really jarring or off putting to have two different POV’s in one chapter, let me know. Again, thank you to everyone commenting, giving feedback and enjoying it. I’m glad you all like my little disaster bean Tsuneko. Also, lowkey scared Soryu is OOC here because things...escalate.

Word Count: 13228 (I’ve notice word counts are off between AO3 and my program, sorry about that, WPS Writer is a bit fucky of a program.)

Warnings: POV Switches, Fat Shaming/Body Shaming, Masturbation (it’s me dudes, someone had to nut eventually), Cis-Female Masturbation, Sex Toy, Bath Masturbation, Panic Attack, Threats of gun violence (Soryu is such a gem), Suicidal thoughts

Missed the last chapter? Link Here!

Eisuke waits in the lounge, trying to get work down on his tablet while he waits for Ota to finish. He’s forcing Tsuneko to work as his assistant at an event tonight, this doesn’t qualify for the bet, which she was quick to point out to him. But, it will give him some opportunities to see how useful she can be. He doesn’t lose and this will be no exception.

She’s intriguing that’s for sure, challenging him to a bet for her freedom. This is to her detriment of course, he probably wouldn’t be so determined to keep her if she was boring. It’s been a long time since he’s had such an interesting toy. She was right when she said there’s no practical reason to keep her around, but she’s become a source of amusement. Once he’s won the bet he might keep her around a while longer, just until he gets bored of her.

“Finished,” Ota yells out as he enters the lounge, noisy as ever, and Tsuneko is following close behind.

“Seriously can we talk about this dress?” She’s complaining as usual and gesturing towards her chest. When she tried it on in store she was wearing a blazer over it to make it more modest, but this works well on her too. The simple colors and silhouette keep it from looking too trashy with the amount of cleavage on display.

“It looks gorgeous on you, princess,” Baba tells her, his eyes linger on her chest. The only one of them not paying attention to her cleavage is Soryu who’s making a point to look anywhere else.

“Look, I don’t know how Kenzaki does his job, but I don’t think having my tits out is a part of assistant work.”

“Pfft, not bad,” he finally gives comment, “at the very least your outfit won’t embarrass me.”

“Oh yes, ‘cause I’d hate to make your life more difficult.”

She rolls her eyes and he’s caught between wanting to scowl and grin. It’s rare anymore to find people who can so shamelessly talk back to him, who don’t seem afraid of upsetting him, but she has a habit of pushing her luck. While entertained, he doesn’t want to tolerate any disobedience. It’s a weird place she puts him in and maybe that’s why he’s so intrigued by her.

“We’re leaving now, hurry up.” He stands from his seat and leaves the lounge, heading towards the limousine The click of Tsuneko’s heels follow after him.

They step into the car, Tsuneko looking as uncomfortable as she was earlier today. She may look more the part, but it’s clear she can’t relax in these environments. She’s just a commoner and a maid after all, from rural Kyushu at that, when she was first bought at the auction he had Kenzaki show him her files.

“Memorize this,” he tells her and hands her his tablet, a list of who the guests at the event are and rules on interacting with them is pulled up on it. Her eyes widen as she starts to read through it, it’s a lot to learn in a car ride, but it’s not impossible. It will be interesting to see if she can manage it. A part of him is concerned about bringing her to such an event, the very thing that makes her so amusing can make her a detriment in this situation.

The event isn’t extremely important and he knows any mistakes she makes he can easily recover from. She gets great feedback from guests she works with and is considered one of the better maids at the hotel, despite not being there for a full year. It’s clear she’s capable of being polite and friendly, perhaps that skill just leaves her when she’s speaking to him or the other penthouse residents.

His most pressing matter at the moment is the meeting with the Bucci’s, the Italian mob. Carolina, the boss’s daughter has taken an unfortunately interest in him. He can’t just brush her off and dismiss her, as much he’d like to, or he risks losing the deal with her father.

He should be able to sic Carolina on Soryu, he’s definitely her type, and if she’s interested in someone else he won’t have to deal with her. As far as he’s concerned, she’s just a pawn to get the deal with her father. It will be entertaining to see Soryu dealing with the clingy energetic woman.

Not only will the deal help his work with the Tres Spades, it will allow extra opportunities for the auctions, and maybe connections that can help to find his sister. He thought for a moment or two when he first saw her that Tsuneko could be his younger sister, they’re around the same age. But, he’s seen enough of Tsuneko’s chest between the lower cut dress and her uniform popping open to know that she doesn’t have a burn mark. Additionally, when he requested her information from Kenzaki he was informed that the manager had already checked to see if there was even a chance they were related just to find there wasn’t. He can’t help wondering is that’s why Kenzaki her application in the first place. She’s definitely one of the more interesting employees.

Eisuke continues to think about what he needs to do for his work and the plans he has until the limousine comes to a stop. They’ve reached the venue. He takes the tablet from her hand and changes what’s on it, an open document.

“Take notes and do whatever I tell you, I won’t be tolerating any disobedience, understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She waves him off, she still hasn’t told him ‘yes’ or ‘okay’, even when she does what he asks.

They walk into the event and it’s a fairly standard affair. Everyone dressed to impress and talking over wine or champagne. Each event is painfully reminiscent of each other. Tsuneko seems pained for a moment before she forces a smile, she’s trying at the very least. Whether it will be good enough remains to be seen.

The first individual to speak to them is Mr. Belrose, a wealthy man from France. He’s excited and robust, greeting her with a faire la bise, kissing Tsuneko on the cheeks. To her credit, Tsuneko seems to expect it and reacts kindly. It’s not unusual for those kinds of greetings to be shocking to people not use to them, but she either memorized the notes he gave or is smart enough not to show any signs of fluster.

Eisuke guides the conversation as he introduces her as his assistant, but Tsuneko doesn’t stand blankly off to the side. She stays engaged and takes notes, contributing when she has something relevant to say. Her and Mr. Belrose end up discussing pastries with her recommending places to visit while he’s in Tokyo. By the time the conversation ends he’s smiling and seems happy to have met her.

This trend continues as they continue making rounds and talking to guests. She’s not truly any less of a smartass, he can’t even say she’s putting up any sort of act. But, her tone is different, her little comments more like playful teasing than genuinely being annoyed. He’s just begun talking to Watanabe when he notices both of their champagne flutes has gone dry.

“Get us more champagne,” he tells Tsuneko and he can tell she wants to argue, but she doesn’t and instead goes to find champagne for them.

“You’re a lucky man, Ichinomiya,” Watanabe tells him with a grin.

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Tomori, she’s a beautiful girl,” Watanabe looks over at where Tsuneko is getting champagne, “I mean, surely you have a thing for her?”

Is that how it looks? Eisuke looks over at Tsuneko, she’s certainly attractive by most standards. She’s petite with collarbone length chocolate brown hair that falls in soft waves and her large expressive eyes are a soft plum purple shade. A soft round face decorated in freckles and a single dimple that shows when she smiles. She’s a bit chubbier than the average Japanese woman which might be detractor to some. He can see how to an outsider she may seem worthy of his attention.

“She’s a diligent assistant.” Is all he says before a woman he knows he’s seen before, but can’t place the name of, comes rushing over. She throws her arms around his arm and all but glues herself to his side.

“Eisuke,” her whine is like nails on a chalkboard, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you this whole time.”

“Well, why didn’t you come on over, Kaede?” Watanabe asks her and Eisuke’s trying to figure out how to pry her off of his arm, Kaede, that’s right. She’s Amachi’s daughter, he’s the owner of a modeling agency, a spoiled girl who’s only in these circles because of her dad.

“Ugh, well I couldn’t exactly come talk with that pig hovering around Eisuke.” She didn’t want to come over because of Tsuneko, interesting.

“I brought the champagne,” Tsuneko speaks from behind them, her glare at Kaede makes it clear she heard the pig comment. Maybe she can deter these kind of women? Eisuke and Watanabe take the champagne flutes from Tsuneko’s hand.

“Wait, I remember you,” Kaede says, her eyes trained on Tsuneko and her nails digging into his arm as she clings, “you were that maid at the I.V.C, why the hell are you here?”

Kaede was there clinging to him at the I.V.C as well when Tsuneko went off on a pervert that was harassing her.

“I’m working as Mr. Ichinomiya’s assistant today,” Tsuneko explains, her face remains stoic but her tone has lost any sign of playfulness.

“Assistant,” Kaede’s eyes seem to brighten at this, “that makes sense, you’re just here as the help of course. Why don’t you make yourself useful and get me some champagne too?”

“Given Mr. Ichinomiya is my boss, it would be up to him,” she says this politely but her meaning is clear, she won’t be taking orders from Kaede. The model scowls.

“Actually,” he draws out seeing one of the servers with champagne is finally nearing them and he pulls his arm away from Kaede’s grasp to get one of them. She looks smug as he grabs a glass, but her face falls again when he hands it to Tsuneko, “would you like some?”

“Oh, thanks.” Tsuneko’s eyes are wide with surprise, like it never even occured to her that she could enjoy some as well.

It’s time to test the waters of Tsuneko’s use as a woman deterrent. He makes sure to let their hands touch as he passes off the champagne and softens his expression as he looks at her. When he pulls his hand away it makes a small show of doing so slowly, letting his touch linger. One of Tsuneko’s eyebrow raise and her head tilts just slightly, clearly confused by his actions. Kaede however, lets out a huffy noise and storms off.

He can’t help smirking. It won’t win the bet, using her as deterrent, because many woman could probably fill that sort of role. But, it’s still some use he can get out of her, particularly when he has to meet with Carolina. It’s not unique or special to Tsuneko, those stipulations to the bet are aggravating to say the least, but he knows he’ll still win.

Watanabe gives him a look like he just caught Eisuke and Tsuneko in a private moment. Tsuneko shakes off the weirdness with an actual small shake of her head and starts drinking her champagne. The event continues on with no further issues or moments of interest.

The night winds down and it’s time for them to take their leave. Tsuneko lets out a heavy sigh as she sits down in the limousine. Perhaps it’s just from the stress of the event but she seems more relaxed in the car than she did before. She even pulls off her heels and starts rubbing her red sore ankles, unconcerned if she looks uncouth in front of him.

He can’t ask her to pose as his girlfriend or anything directly, his thoughts wander to his plans as the car starts moving. If he asks her, he’s sure she’d refuse and even ruin it purposely. She may have behaved tonight, but she’d never agree to something like that. The implication of it was enough to drive off Kaede; just forcing himself to look disgustingly in love and leave lingering touches. It may be enough to convince others he has feelings for her, not that they’re actually together. He can’t help disliking the thought of looking like a love stricken fool who’d sit idly by and not take what they want, he’d never lower himself to that kind of behavior. But, if it in addition to introducing her to Soryu gets Carolina off his back and keeps the Bucci deal safe, it will be worth it.

A loud stomach growl rings out through the car from Tsuneko’s direction and she’s glaring down on her stomach like it’s betrayed her. He can’t help letting out a short huff of air in place of a laugh.

“I haven’t eaten anything since lunch, give me a break.”

Eisuke thinks for a moment, he hasn’t eaten in a while either, the event didn’t have much in the way of food. A bakery with it’s lights still on catches his eye and he remembers Tsuneko’s babbling about sweets with Mr. Belrose. Most higher end bakeries he knows of would be shut down by now, but it’s something. He tells his driver to stop and park in front of the building.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, I can just eat when I get home.”

“We’re going because I want to ,” he tells her and it seems to quiet her up for a brief second, even if she does roll her eyes at him. The car turns to park outside the bakery and she pulls her shoes back on before they walk inside.

He can’t help sneering a bit as he looks around, it was an impulse to stop here. Eisuke didn’t realize it would be so small. A simple layout with off white walls and maple wood paneling. At the front of the store is a large brightly lit glass case meant to display sweet, but it’s notably empty. He’ll have to pay extra for them to make something, he figures.

“Sorry, we just shut down the oven, we’re getting ready to close up in the next hour.” A young man comes out from the back in a pastry chef uniform.

“Nonsense-”

“Ah, uh,” Tsuneko interrupts and glares at him, “that’s fine, we understand.”

What on earth is wrong with her? He can just pay them to stay open longer, they’re both hungry, what’s the point in just leaving? Does she enjoy wasting his time?

“Hmm,” the chef chews his lip and seems to mull it over, “we do have one cake still left, it’s big enough to share if you two want it. Otherwise it’ll be thrown out.” The chef brings out a a large strawberry cream cake.

“You don’t mind us staying here to eat it?” Tsuneko asks him.

“We still have a half hour before we officially close, so it’s fine,” the chef tells her and she smiles brightly, the young man flushes up to his ear, “don’t worry about it.”

They take the dessert to settle in at a table to enjoy it. It’s an immaculate cake, piles of white cream and ripe strawberries between layers of sponge cake. On top a single large strawberry in a little dollop of cream. He goes to stab a fork into the top strawberry when it’s plucked off the top of the cake by Tsuneko’s fingers. Eisuke glares as Tsuneko starts to bring it to her mouth, she pauses when she realizes this.

“What?” she asks, still holding the top strawberry to her lips.

“I was going to eat that.”

“It’s literally right next to my mouth.”

“I was going to eat that,” he says again, scowling. How dare she just steal the top strawberry? She narrows her eyes and pouts, before a subtle smirk pulls at her lips.

Tsuneko makes a little show of putting part of the strawberry into her mouth and sucking off the cream, leaving the bright red fruit shining with saliva when she pulls it from her lips with a pop.

“Still want it?” She offers with a grin, like she’s got him and he wouldn’t dare eat something she’s licked.

He returns his own smirk and plucks it from her fingers to pop it into his own mouth; eating it right in front of her. Her face falls and she glares at him, pouting.

“Seriously?” She narrows her eyes at him and licks some cream still clinging to her lips.

“I told you, I wanted it.” He swallows the fruit, somehow tasting even sweeter than he expected.

“God, you act like a toddler.” The plate makes a scratching noise across the table as she pulls the cake closer to her and stabs her fork into it. She shoves a hunk of cake into her mouth and he drags the plate back towards him to get a bite himself.

This goes on throughout the meal; becoming a tug of war with the plate. The cake dwindles down to nothing and she swipes the final bite, licking cream from her lips. They both stand from their chairs and Tsuneko pouts when she sees him pulling his card out to pay, shouldn’t she be happy?

“I’ll pay,” she tells him and walks off towards the register. This nonsense again.

“Don’t be stupid.” He groans as he makes his way to the counter. His steps are larger than her’s by virtue of his height, but she practically hops to cut in front of him., shoving her own bank card into the machine. He glares at her back and the pastry chef rings her up. Eisuke can’t help but scoff when she has to put her card back in because she jammed it into the chip reader before it was ready.

There’s a grin across her face as she finishes the purchase and tucks her card back into her purse. She makes absolutely no sense. Buying a cake is nothing to him, but she’s still insistent on being the one to buy it. Usually the women he meets are constantly pestering him to buy them things.

She’s still an insipidly proud grin across her face as they go out to the car. At the very least it’s better than the pathetic look she had when they first bought her. He tries to focus on the buildings passing by as the limousine moves, but his eyes keep straying towards her. Her makeup is just barely starting to fade and he can see a hint of the purple bruises on her face.

It was a shock seeing her being sold that night, it’s against the rules of the auctions to sell someone against their will. He never expected to see one of the maids in a golden cage screaming at the top of her lungs, like a trapped animal. There were fresh bruises across her face, her eyes were wet with unshed tears, and she was cradling her bloody hand. While he hasn’t seen her look that pained again, he still hasn’t seen her happy. Even her proud little grins seems spiteful instead of truly happy. It’s clear she’s miserable by this whole thing and is desperate to get away from them.

If he was a nicer person he would have let her.

The limousine comes to a stop outside the hotel. He steps out and is around the other side of the car when he notices Tsuneko wincing as she gets out. Her steps are tender and careful.

“You look ridiculous.” He smirks and she glares at him.

“Well, excuse the fuck out of me for being in pain.”

“Come here.” He moves to pick her up and she jolts back like he’s burnt her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not going to waste my time waiting for you to hobble your way up to the penthouse.”

“Well, there’s not really any alternative, now is there.”

“There is.” He attempts again and she ducks away from him, letting out a whimper.

“Dude,” he’s taken aback being called ‘dude’, “you can’t pick me up.”

“What are you talking about?” He glares at her, is she calling him weak?

“I’m a chubby girl and, no offense, you’re kind of a string bean.”

He scowls, how dare she, Tsuneko isn’t able to avoid him this time and he hoists her up onto his shoulder.

“Ahhh, what the hell are you doing!?” She squirms where she’s over his shoulder, swinging her fists down against his back. He gets a firm grip on her thigh to keep her steady, her skin warm and soft under his hand.

“Stop squirming or I’ll drop you,” he threatens as he packs her into through the hotel lobby, her body heavy but not overbearing on his shoulder. A few guests give them odd looks, but he doesn’t pay them any mind.

She’s still yelping and smacking at his back when he gets her to the penthouse elevator. He’s put the key in and the elevator lurches into movement.

She hits him particularly hard in the back, a dull ache already starting to form, and he puts her down. What is her problem, she should be grateful he was willing to carry her. She glares at him instead and he scowls then she slams her fist into his stomach. A jolt of pain runs through his abdomen and he hunches over, grabbing at where she hit him.

“What is wrong with you?!”

“What is your problem!?” He tries to yell back, his voice a rasp from having the wind knocked out of him, he can’t remember the last time someone actually hit him.

“My problem is you! Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be packed around like a sack of potatoes!”

“Is it anymore humiliating than limping through the hotel?”

“Yes,” she looks at him like he’s an idiot, “it’s a thousand times worse!”

“So when you don’t get what you want, you hit me, who’s the toddler now?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you not like getting touched without permission,” she jabs him in the chest with her finger, “I told you not to pick me up and you did anyway, so I hit you.”

“I own you, I don’t need your permission.”

“Hellooo?~ Did you forget the entire fucking bet?! You don’t own me until you win and you know what, even if you did own me, I’d still kick your sorry ass for that bullshit!”

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open with a noise. Tsuneko stomps off towards Kisaki’s suite where her clothes are. He glares at her as she leaves before he enters the lounge. Everyone is there and they all seem to give him an odd look as he walks to his usual seat.

“What the hell happened?” Kishi is the first one to speak, taking a drag off of his cigarette and Eisuke glares at him, not that he seems bothered.

“Nothing,” he says and gets his tablet out to reviews the notes Tsuneko took.

“We could hear the woman screeching from here,” Soryu grimaces, like even talking about her or hearing her is a pain. Eisuke shifts in his seat and a twinge of pain goes through his gut, his expression must change because he gets some strange looks.

“Are you alright boss?” Baba asks him with a look of concern.

“She hit me,” he admits, avoiding eye contact as he pulls up her notes.

“Pfffft,” Kishi lets out a sputtering laugh and chokes on his cigarette.

“We can still get rid of her,” Soryu offers without hesitation.

“No,” Eisuke tells him as he reads over the tablet. Her notes are immaculate, well organized and clear to understand with an immense amount of details. She may be proving to be a handful, but he knows he can find a proper use for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsuneko groans loudly as she stumbles into her dorm peels off her shoes. She could have changed in Kisaki’s suite, but after her fight with Ichinomiya, she just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The event dragged on for entirely too long, it’s like she’s spent years with Ichinomiya instead of hours. She puts the shopping bags of professional clothes down on her counter, she’ll tuck them away in her closet properly after she’s done everything else that needs to be done. For now those and the stack of documents listing auction items will sit right there and stay as far away from her consciousness as possible.

She checks on Kiyo, he’s snoozing with only half of his body in bed. Tsuneko grabs some comfy casual clothes, one of her favorite pajama sets, and heads into her bathroom. They’ll be nice to relax in after her bath. She scrubs off the makeup, revealing her plain baby face underneath, Kisaki really is a master with that kind of stuff. The dress takes her a moment to strip off, her bra and panties follow into the clothes pile.

It takes a while for her water to warm up and fill the tub. She’s infinitely thankful the dorms come with bathtubs and not just a shower, even if they’re on the smaller side. Showers are great in the morning when she’s in a rush, but when she needs to relax, baths are the best.

She sinks down into the steaming hot water, keeping her bandaged hand up on the side of the tub. It’s a bit of trouble to pour some body wash into her uninjured hand, but she manages it. She takes a deep breath, the familiar smell of her body wash is relaxing. A soft sweet scent of fresh cream that’s just warm and comforting to her.

It builds a gentle lather across her skin, flushed pink from the hot water. She scrubs down her neck and whimpers when she starts to tease her chest. That burn of arousal starts to build inside of her again, maybe it all the stress, but she’s been feeling so needy lately. Her body is begging for some sort of release.

She gently squeezes and plays with her breasts, avoiding her nipples for the time being. Soft moans and whines escapes her as she tries to imagine someone else teasing her and groping at her body. There’s a steady heat building between her thighs as her fingers sink into the squish of her breast. She can feel herself growing slicker with each movement.

Her fingers finally travel to her nipple, teasing over the sensitive peach pink skin. A breathy sound escapes her as she starts pinching and pulling at it. Her teeth sinks into her lip, she’s not sure how thin the walls are in these dorms, but she doesn’t want to test it. Even with the warmth of the water her touch is able to bring her nipple to a stiff peak before she moves to the other one. Her thighs clench together, trying to put some pressure on her clit.

Once she’s teased her other nipple for a moment, leaving her chest covered in suds as her hand starts to slip down lower. Her fingers rub down the soft squish of her stomach before finding their place between her thighs. She’s gentle at first, just teasing her slit, but she can’t stand it a moment longer.

She lets out a loud whine of pleasure when she presses her fingers to her clit, the bundle of nerves twitches at the touch. A jolt of ecstasy hits her and she presses down harder. She can feel her hot slick even through the water and she starts rubbing at herself. Her fingers move quick and her hips instinctively rock up against her own touch. The water splashing out of the tub from the movements. Her body is so desperate and her pleasure builds quickly. She dips her fingers down into her to stop herself from cumming so quickly.

It’s a slow pumping motion, her fingers aren’t long enough to give herself any kind of deep penetration, but it’s enough to keep her pleasure going without crashing over her peak. She scissors her fingers, trying to give her tight hole a slight stretch. A whimper escapes her and her clit throbs, needing more stimulation.

She drags her slick fingers back up and starts playing with her swollen clit again. It’s too much and her walls clench at the touch. Pleasure overwhelms her and her moan catches in her throat as the tension snaps, finally finding her release.

She’s reduced to whimpers and whines as rides out the aftershocks, softly teasing herself through until it’s too much. Between the heat of her body and the water, it’s like she’s melting. Her breath comes out in heavy pants and her toes are sore from curling. Once she’s caught her breath, she carefully washes the rest of her body, avoiding her sensitive cunt and chest.

She’s extra careful getting out of the tub, between the water and her now shaky legs it’s a bit more precarious. She dries her skin, whining when she rubs the towel down between her thighs, the fabric brushes across the sensitive lips of her sex. Once dry she changes into her pajamas and pulls her hair up into two messy space buns. Her face is still red, the after glow of orgasm clinging to her. The bathroom smells like body wash and sex now, despite what she did, she still feels clean.

She needs to take care of a few mundane things, now that she’s gotten her release. Kiyo is still snoozing in his cage, so she’ll have to let him out to play later tonight when he’s awake. She cleans up his cage then changes his food and water. The stack of documents catches her eye, she needs to deal with that. Everything about having to present at the auction is a headache waiting to happen. Instead of starting on that she marks the day off on the calendar, she has the duration of the bet highlighted, so that she can keep track of how long she has until she hopefully escapes this hellish situation. She puts a reminder on the day of the auction as well.

Tsuneko plops onto her bed, pressing her face against her pillow. She just wants to relax, while she usually is dying to keep busy, those assholes take up her time in the worse kind of way. Playing assistant to someone else wouldn’t have been bad, but dealing with Ichinomiya, ugh. She groans against her pillow. Those assholes frustrate and exhaust her in the worse kind of ways.

Even thinking of them is ruining her time to relax, her skin is still warm and clean from the bath. She idly runs her hands over her side and up over her chest, feeling her nipples through the thin cotton of her tank top. A whimper is muffled by her pillow and her thighs clench. Fuck, her body never seems to be satisfied.

Tsuneko moves to her knees and uses her injured hand to pull the pillow tight to her face to muffle any noises. She doesn’t waste any time shoving her other hand down her short and between her thighs. Her clit is already slick and swollen, it’s like the first orgasm did nothing to sate her. She rubs her fingers over it, making noises into her pillow.

Tension and pleasure pools between her legs, her orgasm building higher and higher. But this time, she can’t go over the peak. Her hopes of a quick second orgasm are dashed, her ecstasy plateaus and she can’t seem to build it high enough to cum. She rubs quicker and harder, it’s good but it’s not enough.

“Fuck,” she whines into her pillow, she just wants to cum damn it. Her bed creaks as she scramble to get her box out from under her bed. The baby pink box with a quilted heart lid and a Winnie The Pooh padlock is where she keeps all of her sex toys. She nearly drops the key, her movements are so frantic and her fingers are too slick. It opens, showing her growing hoard of toys.

She picks her big smooth silver toy meant to hit some spot deep inside of her. That spot has an actual name, but the lusty haze in her brains keep her from remembering it. She peels off her shorts and gets back on her knees, with her face in the pillow.

Tsuneko reaches back with the toy, a soft mewl escapes her when the toy brushes against her sensitive folds. She slowly pushes it inside of her, whimpering at the deep penetration and stretch of it opening her up. It hits that sweet spot and she sees stars. She starts fucking the toy into herself, losing all sense of patience, as she furiously chases her orgasm. Her slick drips down her thigh and coats her hand as she slams the toy inside of herself. Pleasure keeps building with every pump of the toy. She can’t keep any sort of rhythm or pattern, it’s just a frantic mixture of thrusting the toy while her hips bounce. Her hips slam down just she fucks the toy up in, hitting that spot so hard the tension finally snaps and she bites down on her pillow to muffle her yell, her body melts into pure bliss. A gush of slick rushes down her thighs as her cunt clenches down on the toy.

She pants into her pillow, drool smearing across it. A soft noise escapes her as she takes the toy out with a flood of slick following it. Tsuneko catches her breath for a moment and forces herself to sit up; there’s a big wet spot on her blankets, her thighs are coated in her own juices, and there’s a sheen of sweat clinging to her skin.

A shower would probably be a good idea, but her body is heavy. She stares at her clock, making promises to get out of her bed and clean up. A minute or two passes and the numbers grow fuzzier. It’s like her eyelids are weighted, keeping them open is a struggle.

When her eyes open again the clock has jumped to an hour or two later. Whatever dreams she may have had weren’t vivid enough to recall or she wasn’t asleep long enough. Orgasms and booze is the best way she knows she suppress the worse of her nightmares. Though she never seems to stay asleep for very long after an orgasm, which is probably for the best. If it could give her a long deep dreamless kind of sleep, she’d probably spend the majority of her time with her hand between her legs.

She stretches as she climbs out of her bed, the air is cool on her sweat and slick coated skin. Her toy is still on top of the sheets, she cleans it and tucks it back into the box. Tsuneko grabs her discarded shorts and a new set of pajamas before heading to the shower.

Her shower manages to be free of funny business She leaves the bathroom clean, with new pajamas, and newly done space buns. It’s a little after three in the morning, she usually gets up around five, so she might as well just stay up and get something done besides masturbating.

Kiyo is up and making noises as she comes over to his cage. She lets him out and he’s quick to tackle one of his toys. While he’s playing with that she puts the new clothes away in her dresser, the price tags still hurt, and changes the sheets on her bed.. Tsuneko grabs one of her binders, a black one with a cute minimalist cat face on it. It’s empty, one she bought on a whim because it was adorable with no real use, now she has something to use with it.

She takes the documents of auction items and punches holes in them to fit them into the binder. She’ll start reading over them on her lunch break and she still needs to visit the tea room, or whatever, where Oh said the hatter was.

Memories of the hatter and the auction flash through her mind. All eyes on her, an entire crowd just waiting for the chance to use her, to hurt her and she can’t even get away. Her throat is tight and she can’t get a deep enough breath. Her heart races like a runaway train, it’s going to burst out of her chest. She wraps her arms around herself and pulls her knees to her chest, hiding her face away from the phantom eyes she can still feel on her.

Something fluffy touches her thigh and she jolts in her chair, Kiyo is climbs into her lap. She hugs him tight to her chest and pets his fur. He makes soft noises and she focuses all of her attention on him, slowly she starts to feel better. Her breathing steadies and her heart race starts to normalize.

“You’re such a good boy, Kiyo.” She gives him a soft smooch and he nuzzles into her face. Tears she didn’t realize she was crying wet his fur, but he doesn’t mind and makes soft dooking noises.

She takes a deep breath, thankful her body will allow it and puts Kiyo down, time for a game of tag. Tsuneko boops him and runs away letting him chase her excitedly across the dorm. They play and chase after each other for around an hour. She catches him after her turn to tag him and scratches at his stomach, making him nip at her fingers.

Tsuneko makes him some breakfast, his favorite eggs and raw beef, giving him an extra helping. She feeds him a bit from her hand before putting him away, topping the bowl off again before she goes to get ready. She’s gone through her skin care routine, put on makeup, tied her hair, and changed into some slightly less pajama-y clothes. Her stomach growls, she’ll go to a gas station and grab a candy bar or something. She’s still running early and it will be nice to go out of her way. A little walk might help clear her mind.

The early morning air is cool and nice on her skin, there’s a little convenient store not that far away from the hotel. She walks inside, rows of colorful snacks and fluorescent lights greet her. Tsuneko takes her time browsing before picking out a bottle of strawberry milk and custard filled taiyaki. She’s getting her bank card out as she walks up to the register.

“Hello, princess.”

Her head jerks up at the familiar voice and sickly sweet pet name. Baba stands behind the register with a big smile in the striped blue convenience store uniform, isn’t he a thief? Does he need a day job?

“You work here?”

“Part time, I like to help out, now you know another place to find me.” Baba wink as he starts ringing up her order.

“Guess I’m not coming back.” Tsuneko slides her card and then her eyes go wide. There’s a display of Cinnamoroll lollipops near the register she didn’t see earlier. Not only is the little fluffy mascot on the wrappers, the actual suckers are shaped like him. She has to bite her lip to resist yelling out, it’s so cute. But, she’s already bought her makeshift breakfast, maybe she’ll come back after work and buy a bunch to fill her candy bowl and uniform pockets.

“Awww, don’t be like that, lovely lady.”

“I have a name.”

“And it’s a beautiful one.”

“Don’t make me sick before breakfast.” She sighs and grabs her bag before heading out the door.

“See you later, Tsuneko.” At least she knows he does actually remember her name. She gives a half-ass wave before she leaves the store.

She pulls out the taiyaki and unwraps it, munching on the custard filled cake as she walks towards the hotel. Tsuneko is licking her fingers clean as she reaches the back lot behind the Tres Spades. She’s getting her milk out of the bag when she feels something else.

It’s one of the Cinnamoroll lollipops, a pink bubblegum flavored one. Did Baba toss it into her bag for her? He must have seen her practically drooling over them. That’s actually really nice, ugh. It’s hard to hate him if he’s going to be like this. She tucks it into her pocket for later and drinks her milk.

She’s finished with her little breakfast and thrown her trash away by the time she enters the locker room. She immediately sees Sakiko and makes a beeline for her, remembering the conversation she had yesterday with Chiho and Mari. Tsuneko pinches Sakiko’s ear and yanks.

“Owww, what are you doing?!”

“What the hell have you been telling people?!”

“About wha-owwww!” Tsuneko yanks harder.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

“Chisato, help!”

“You did it to yourself, Sakiko.” Chisato doesn’t even look away from her locker.

“Confess, asshole.” Tsuneko yanks again.

“Ahhhh, all I did was tell people about you bumping into Mr. Ichinomiya.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“Owww-uh, okay maybe I told them he loves you.”

“And why the hell would you do that?!”

“’Cause it’s true!”

“Do you want to die?!”

“Not before I get a boyfriend,” Sakiko whines and Tsuneko lets go of her ear.

“Stop being an idiot.”

“Just tell me to stop breathing why don’t you,” Sakiko grumbles, rubbing at her bright red ear.

“It would certainly make my life easier.”

“That’s mean Tsuneko,” Chisato scolds in a deadpan voice.

“Well, yeah, I said it, that’s how you know.” Tsuneko opens her locker and her eyes widen, there’s a stack of new uniforms in her locker. She checks the tag, it’s doesn’t say a specific size.

“Did you finally get your new uniform?” Sakiko asks as Tsuneko pulls out one of them.

“Uh, yeah,” Tsuneko tells her because she doesn’t know what else to say, maybe Kenzaki noticed and put in an order for her?

She pulls on the uniform and the fit is amazing, like it’s tailored just to her. Tsuneko sometimes struggles with sizing, finding a balance between comfortable but not frumpy, but this is perfect. It’s not too tight across her chest or stomach, but still tailored enough that it doesn’t sag or swallow her whole. Her waist is still defined in it and it doesn’t make her look bigger than she is.

Is the neckline a little lower though? She feels like she has to do up another button than usual to completely cover her cleavage. She’s not too shy about having her chest showing, but it’s not exactly professional, so she just does up the extra button and calls it done.

“By the way,” Tsuneko starts as she shuts her locker, “do either of you know where the tea room is?”

“The tea room?” Sakiko raises an eyebrow, maybe they don’t know anything about it.

“Uh, like somewhere to get tea at?” Chisato tries, but she clearly has no idea what Tsuneko is talking about.

“No, not exactly, don’t worry about it.” She’ll just have to ask Kenzaki, he’s sure to know. They leave the locker room and get their work schedules.

Tsuneko spots Kenzaki at the front desk, checking in guests, and makes a quick beeline over to him. She waits patiently for the guests to finish registering.

“Is there something I can help you with Tomori?”

“Yes, Mr. Oh told me that I needed to go to the tea room at some point, but I’m not sure where that is.”

“Ah, alright then, please follow me.” Kenzaki isn’t bothered in the slightest, nothing seems to knock the passive smile off of his face.

He leads her through the lobby and down to the basement. Her mouth goes dry as they meander through the familiar halls, all she can remember is seeing them through cage bars. She swallows hard and tries to push through, then Kenzaki leads her down another flight of stairs she’s never seen before. She always though the level with the ballroom and auction was the lowest of the hotel, it’s even marked as the basement floor in the elevators.

“Here we are,” Kenzaki tells her and gestures towards a large set of double doors along the hall in this new basement level of the hotel.

“Alright, I’ll make a note of it. I still have rooms to clean, so I’ll come back later.”

“If you’ve been asked to come down here, it’s best for you to go on in. The penthouse guests and the tea room resident should take precedent over your other duties,” Kenzaki explains calmly, before leaving her alone in front of the door. Tsuneko tales a deep breath and lets her nerves calm down before she knocks on the door.

“Come in,” a voice calls out and Tsuneko pushes the doubles doors open.

Her breath catches in her throat. It’s like she’s stepped into another world. The ceiling looks exactly like a beautiful early morning sky, soft blue with puffy white clouds, so real she can almost convince herself she’s outside. What looks and feels like lush green grass is under her feet, but she knows it can’t be real. Masses of green vines and bright red roses are painted across the brick walls. Within the middle of the room is a table covered in a white table cloth, wooden chairs with white blue striped cloth. At the table sits the Mad Hatter, still dressed in the same costume from the night she was sold.

“Um, hello, I was told to come down here.”

“Alice,” the Mad Hatter jump out of his seat with wide eyes and rushes over to her. She startles back it’s so sudden, “Oh, you’re timid, I must treat you delicately.”

“Uh, no, I’m fine sorry,” she murmurs. Given his hatter get up and the wonderland vibe of the room, she can gather that this must be an Alice in Wonderland reference. She can’t say she’d ever liken herself to the fairy tale character, but that doesn’t stop the Mad Hatter.

“I finally found you, Alice,” he whispers as he clasps her hands between his, he’s like a kid who’s just been told he can have candy and a toy. His costume and aesthetic is far on the uncanny side, but his expression is almost cute underneath the caked on makeup.

“My name is Tomori Tsuneko.”

“Your eyes are so pure and innocent, you’re the perfect Alice.”

“Pffft,” she suppresses a laugh. She definitely would not consider herself pure or innocent, “uh, Oh told me to come talk to you about helping out with the auction shit.”

“Yes! I was so excited when he told me, your outfit should be here soon!”

“Outfit?” She grimaces, if it’s anything like what he wears, she’s scared.

“Yes, I know you’ll look beautiful in it, I’ve been wanting to see you again since that night!”

“You have?”

“From the first moment I saw you, I was a prisoner of your love.”

“Okaaaay,” she looks away from the entirely too earnest looking hatter, “someone’s been spending too much time with Baba.”

“You’re the Alice that I’ve been searching for,” there’s a hopeful lilt to his voice, “you have no idea how long I’ve waited to meet you, Alice.”

He casts his eyes downward and a pout pulls at his painted lips. The expression causes a pang in her heart, that she really doesn’t want to address. He’s a grown man in a hatter costume who’s working an illegal auction, he gleefully sold her, he’s not a child. She has to tell herself this, remind herself not to feel sympathy for this man.

“Well,” she scratches at her nose sheepishly, “I’m here now.”

“The reason you started working here, you breaking the Venus Statue,” his face lights up, “it was all part of the fate that brought us together. I don’t believe in coincidences, Alice. Our fates are connected. ”

“Well, I don’t believe in fate, so we’re gonna have a helluva time.”

“You say the oddest things, Alice.”

“So, wha-huh? Oh my god!” Brushing against her leg is the fattest, fluffiest Himalayan cat she’s ever seen, staring up at Tsuneko with bright blue eyes.

“Oh, Cheshire! And how are you doing today?” The Mad Hatter scoops up the cat, just a fat mass of fur in his arms.

“Can I pet them?” Tsuneko asks, despite how much she wants to reach out and just snuggle that precious fluff ball, she knows it’s wrong not to ask first.

“Of course, Cheshire’s pride and joy is her silky long hair,” he says as hands Cheshire over. Tsuneko’s arms strain to hold the cat, but she doesn’t mind and nuzzles her face against the fluffy girl.

“You’re such a pretty girl, aren’t you,” she coos at Cheshire.

“Would you like to help take care of her, Alice?” The Mad Hatter asks, his unnaturally blue eyes wide and a smile across his lips.

“Can I?”

“You may, but you’d have to come down here everyday to brush her fur.”

“I don’t mind.” Tsuneko smiles, cuddling a cat is now part of her job, that’s the best news ever.

“Wonderful!” The Mad Hatter bounces and claps his hands, you’d think he had just won the lottery.

“Okay, so-god damn it.” Her pager buzzes in her pocket and she has to let Cheshire go to answer it.

“Penthouse. Five Minutes.”

“My, my, how frightening.”

“Yeah, I gotta go deal with his shit.” Tsuneko sighs, the last time she saw Ichinomiya she’d sucker punched him.

“Oh, you’re leaving.” He pouts and stares at the ground, he looks like strange wounded harlequin puppy.

“Yeah, but I can come back.” The words comes out before Tsuneko even realizes it, the need to comfort him is overwhelming.

“Really!?” His expression is bright again, “Would you want to come back around nine or so and help me with a tea party?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Tsuneko tells him with a soft smile.

“I can’t wait, ahh, you better get going or he’ll be mad.”

“What else is new.” Tsuneko waves him off and heads out the door. She takes her time to make it up to the lounge, taking her time with the stairs and helping a few guests before entering the elevator with her cleaning cart.

“You’re late.”

“I was in the tea room.”

“Ugh, I’d go crazy if I had to spend even a hour there.” Kisaki grimaces.

“Maddy is definitely an eccentric guy.”

“Coffee.” At the very least, Ichinomiya isn’t trying to harp on the whole punching him thing. She ventures into the kitchen and makes up drinks.

“I’ll go ahead and start cleaning,” she tells them after she hands off the drinks.

“You’ll be be working as my assistant all day tomorrow,” Ichinomiya says after taking a sip of his coffee.

“I can’t believe you’re dragging that woman along with us,” Oh grumbles as he takes a drink from his cup. Everyday is a struggle not to spit into their drinks.

“Dress appropriately and be here ready to leave at 8:30am.’

“Is Kenzaki still busy?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“This is my job and you’re my employer, this could not be more of my business.”

“Be quiet and start cleaning already,” Oh demands her and she can’t help glaring at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going, you sexist dumbass,”she grumbles and goes to start cleaning.

“What was that?”

“I called you a sexist dumbass,” she repeats louder.

“You’re just asking to be put down at this point.”

“Whatever,” Tsuneko mumbles again, she’s still not sure how serious Oh is about killing her and every time he makes those comments she has to wonder. If she knew how empty his threats were, she’d feel better. Even if he is being honest and would kill her, at least then she’d know to be careful of him.

Once the lounge is cleaned she starts working on the suites. Kishi’s gives her a headache again, but she manages. Oh’s room is last, because his is usually fairly neat and just needs standard maintenance Tsuneko cleans the bedroom, living room, and kitchen before making it to her bathroom.

Oh is annoying her in particular today. Between the condescending way he calls her woman and the constant death threats. He may want her out of there, but he plans on treating her like shit until it happens. Baba and Kisaki generally seem pretty light hearted when they tease her. There’s something more, hateful almost when it comes to Oh and Ichinomiya. Kishi takes up space and ruins the air quality, that’s where his influence end.

A wrapper scratches across her fingers where she’s fiddling with the good luck charm, a force of habit at this point. She’s reminded of the cute little sucker tucked away in her pocket. Keeping candy in her pockets isn’t uncommon, but this is all she has on her today. Her eyes are drawn up to the shower head in Oh’s bathroom. She pulls off the wrapper carefully, saving it for the cute art work.

“Sorry, Cinnamoroll, know you died for a good cause,” she tells the little puppy shaped lolipop as she yanks the candy off the stick. Tsuneko unscrews his shower head, tucks the treat inside, then puts it back together. By the end of his next shower, he should be coming out sticky and smelling like bubblegum.

Content with her petty revenge of the day, Tsuneko finishes the rest of the bathroom and leaves the penthouse to start the rest of her work. The rest of the day passes by pretty easily; cleaning rooms, restocking amenities, and helping guests. She eats her lunch in the cafeteria with Sakiko and Chisato, the two of them idly chatting while she reads over the auction items. Tsuneko wants to see about them eventually getting lunch at Parole, the little bakery Ichinomiya and her went to. Not only was the cake good, the pastry chef was adorable, all she wanted to do was hug him when his face lit up red.

She’s finished the last room on her work schedule and it’s time to head back to Wonderland for the tea party. She can’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of that thought. The Mad Hatter is a strange man and despite trying to remember how he fucking sold her, she can’t help having a soft spot for him. Tsuneko knocks on the door to the tea room

“Come in, come in,” The Hatter ushers her in with a smile, “help me decorate for the party, Alice.”

He brings her through one of the many doors in his Wonderland that leads to a bedroom. The walls are a soft green and there’s a canopy bed with teal blue sheets. There’s a huge oak book shelf across one of the walls, piled with a mixture of books and strange little trinkets. The room itself looks like a jam packed antique and oddity shop, just an eclectic mishmash of random things.

“Uh, what about this?” she points at a candelabra.

“Why did you pick that?”

“I don’t know, looks nice.” Tsuneko gives a shrug, does it really matter?

“That’s not a very good description,” The Mad Hatter pouts like she’s scolded him, “this is how you should describe it, Alice.”

He snatches it from his hand with a flourish and waves his hand around it. His expression is bright again, all wide eyed and smiley. The Mad Hatter’s emotions seem to shift on every little whim.

“The feel of it is as sensual as juicy pear. It’s cold as ice, the temperature like a chameleon which stirs a sluggish soul!”

“Pear are sensual….?” She raises an eyebrow at him, now she’s just wondering if he fucks pears or something.

“The candelabra was in a deep sleep, but now it’s alive. With the appropriate descriptions, any object can be brought to life. Word have both the power to give life and to kill.” all jokes aside, she can kind of see what he’s getting at, that describing things in a creative way kind of makes it more fun.

“I think I get it.” She can’t say this is really her forte, but there’s something fun about his over the top antics.

“Now, let continue choosing decorations.” The Hatter bustles around the crowded room. He grabs random objects and presents them to Tsuneko before going into some flowery description about them.

“The painting of the cobra,” he spins and shows it to her, “silently command words. It’s dainty as a house mouse, brimming with an inner passion rivaled only by Perseus.”

“Uhhh, but it also hides the secret pain of knowing Medusa’s tragedy,” Tsuneko offers, using her limited knowledge of Greek myth. His smile is her reward for the attempt, even if she’s still not confident. Creativity isn’t exactly her strong suit.

“Hidden in the depths of this bronze goddess statue is a shy spotted garden eel. But, the sweet curve of her breast is like a sad melody from Chopin!.”

“That’s a poetic way to say nice rack,” she turns to find something else when she sees two random figures, “ahHHH”

Tsuneko jumps back and trips over one of The Hatter’s treasures. There’s two grown men in furry animal heads, one a mouse and the other a rabbit. Both dressed and vivid suits and just looming in the doorway.

“Alice, that’s so rude.”

“What!? A wild furry convention just broke out in your bedroom and you wanna call me rude!?

“These are our guests, The March Hare and The Dormouse.”

“What up?” A rough masculine voice comes from The March Hare.

“My stress levels, that’s what!” Tsuneko yells as she scrambles to her feet, this just went up a few notches on the strange meter. The weird almost furries start silently packing the ‘decorations’ out into the tea room.

Once her heart starts pounding, she does her best to help set up the little party. Eventually, everything seems to be in order to The Mad Hatter’s standard. Cheshire watches idly by, her big fluffy tail flicking back and forth.

“Let the party begin,” The Mad Hatter decides once it’s all done, tapping a teacup with a spoon. A discordant tone starts to play, where it’s coming from she doesn’t know, it’s almost like a distorted carnival song.

Tsuneko takes a seat and so does the two partial furry guys. Food arrives and she can’t help raising an eyebrow. It’s all strangely and vividly colored, reminding her of those bright toxic frogs. All of the food is in weird shapes, from lizards to mushrooms and a variety of bug shapes.

She slowly bites down on one of the mushrooms, it looks the least odd of the items. It has the texture of gelatin with an almost chemically artificial sweetness to it, like cheap icing.

“The steam lizard is as soft as mashed potatoes! The butterflies are crispy and fried to perfection! The grasshopper tastes lovely with the brown butter sauce, but the ladybugs taste better with the raspberry!”

The Mad Hatter rambles on and on, while no one else speaks. The March Hare and The Dormouse silently eat, while Tsuneko tries to search for one of the little treats that is actually good. She picks up one of the little butterflies, decorated like a monarch one and nibbles on it. Tsuneko nearly spits it out, it taste like fondant, awful like sugary play-doh. She ends up just pouring raspberry sauce on her plate and eating that alone. Exactly, how delusional is the hatter?

“Isn’t this fun Alice?” The Hatter asks her.

“Yeah,” she tells him, sucking raspberry sauce off her finger. Cheshire hops into her lap and, once her fingers are cleaned, she starts scratching through her fur.

“Cheshire is so happy with you here, Alice. I am too, this was the best nothing day ever.” The Mad Hatter gives her a big smile. His party is winding down, the Hare and Dormouse leaving without a word. Despite the inherent strangeness, she can’t say she didn’t like the odd little party. The Mad Hatter is at the very least entertaining.

“It was fun,” she tries to think of a nice way to say this. He can’t actually like this food and it’s definitely not good for him. No one likes fondant or bad gelatin, “but, if you don’t mind, I’d like to cook the food for a tea party at some point.”

“Really,” his eyes go wide and then he smiles, “I’d love that!”

“Lovely, how about the day after tomorrow, so I can get a menu together?”

“I’d like to have yorkshire pudding and lemon chiffon pie.”

“York...shire...pudding?” Her eyebrow raises at the unfamiliar dish name. She knows what pudding is, but the word yorkshire has her stumped, like those terrier dogs?

“Don’t worry, it’s a very simple recipe from my home country.”

That gives her no more information, his voice has a slight accent and that food definitely isn’t Japanese, but she can’t discern his race underneath the thick makeup. The little treats he has at the tea party are shaped like lizards and bugs, maybe it’s pudding in the shape of a dog? How would that even work, pudding can’t hold it’s shape, unless you freeze it. So, would it be like a dog pudding pop? That doesn’t sound right, either. She’ll just have to look it up later.

“Okay, I’ll-” her pager buzzes in her pocket, “what the fuck, I’m not even on shift!”

“Get up here, now, woman!” Oh barks demands when she answers it, someone tried to take a shower.

“They’re taking you away again,” The Mad Hatter pouts, staring at his feet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”

“Really?”

“Promise,” she says and offers her pinkie finger to him. He locks his finger with hers and a smile lights up his face, “you know what a pinkie promise means right?”

“That you promised?” His head tilts to the side a bit.

“It means that if someone breaks the promise, the other person can punish them. Traditionally, it’s cutting off the pinkie finger, ten-thousand punches, or swallowing a thousand needles. But, it’s up to the other person to decide what the punishment is. ”

“I don’t want to punish you,”

“That’s good, ‘cause you won’t have to. I have to help out Ichinomiya tomorrow, so I don’t know if I can stop by tomorrow, but I’ll be here the day after with as many treats as I can carry.”

“Okay, thank you Alice.”

“No worries, now if you excuse me, I have to go get yelled at.” She waves a bye to him and starts the journey back up to the penthouse. This should be interesting to say the least.

There will be a death threat involved, she knows that given Oh’s love of those. Even if it wasn’t her original intention, in all honesty she was just mad and feeling petty, this might be a chance to see how genuine those threats are. If the guy is willing to kill her over a petty prank, she’ll know how carefully she has to tread around him. Not that this will necessarily stop her from talking back and getting angry, because, well, that’s just kind of who she is. It’s not like she can’t bite her tongue and be kind to people she doesn’t like, but there’s some stuff she can’t let pass. And given how they purchased her at an illegal auction, she doesn’t really feel the need to treat them with anything resembling respect. They sealed their fate with her that night. Even if she loses the bet, she’ll never be kind or respectful to them.

She can hear laughter and yelling as she steps into the lounge. Baba, Kisaki, and Kishi are cracking up in hysterics. Ichinomiya is smirking and looking like he’s on the verge of laughing as well. Oh is in the middle of the lounge, yelling at them to shut up. His usually slicked back dark hair is falling into his face, just slightly damp, and the smell of artificial bubblegum is evident in the room.

“I was paged.”

All eyes are on her and she barely manages to keep the smile off her face. Oh glares at her and it gets easier, her breath catching in her throat. His hair down soften his appearance a bit, but there’s nothing but sheer venom in his dark blue eyes.

“What the hell is this?” He throws something at her and she just manages to catch the half melted piece of candy, no longer recognizable as Cinnamoroll.

“Hey, be careful, if that stuck to the floor, it’d take forever to clean,” she complains and toss the candy into the trash, trying to wipe some of the sticky residue off her skin.

“Did you seriously put candy in my shower head!?” He yells and storms closer to her, invading her personal space, looming over her.

“Yeah, obviously.”

“You’re not even going to deny it, really?!”

“You were an asshole, so I got back at you, simple as that.”

“Do you have a death wish?” He threatens in a low voice.

“Sor, don’t-”

“Sure, go for it,” she challenges, ignoring the shake in her voice and way her mouth’s gone dry. Her hands tremor, but she doesn’t break eye contact or back down.

“What was that?” His voice is practically a growl and he’s getting closer, trying to intimidate her.

“I said go for it,” she sits down one of the couches crossing her arms and legs as she glares up at the mobster, “put up or shut up.”

Oh doesn’t hesitate to pull a gun from the waistband of his pants and points it directly at her face, the metal glinting. Her chest tightens as her heart races, she swallows hard, but keep her eye contact.

He’s serious. He’s fucking serious.

“Stop,” Ichinomiya demands, from his position in his chair, looking over his tablet. Despite the harshness of his tone, he shows no signs of moving or looking up. Oh scoffs and lowers his gun.

“You’re not worth the bullet it would take to kill you.”

“And you weren’t worth the candy it took to ruin your night.”

“Are you seriously still pushing your luck!?”

“Yeah, I am, ‘cause this is fucking pathetic! You were gonna blow my brains out over a piece of fucking candy, do you hear how fucking stupid that is!?”

“Stop,” Ichinomiya repeats, this time harsher and more commanding, his eyes actually landing on the arguing pair.

“This is asinine,” Tsuneko grumbles and stands from the couch, walking towards the exit, “my shift has been over for hours, I’m going home, and I expect to get overtime for this bullshit!” she yells the last bit over her shoulder as she leaves.

She makes the journey back down to the employee locker room. Tsuneko has to focus on every little step, every movement, her eyes focus on just going. If she doesn’t do this she’ll break down and she knows it. She knows the tell tales signs. The way her throat constricts and her lips quiver.

The locker room is empty, all of the coworkers working the same shift as her have gone home and those on the later shift have already gone to work. Still she checks the bathroom and shower attached, no one, then she moves a trash can to block the door, so no one can come in.

She sits on the ground in front of her locker and pulls her knees to her chest. Her face is soaked in seconds as tears stream down her cheeks, hot against her skin. A disgustingly pathetic sob echoes in the locker room and she hates herself for making a noise like that, for being this weak.

She’s not been that good of a person and she knows that, she’s hurt a lot of people and done a lot of shitty things. A part of her wonders if it’s some sort of cosmic punishment, but her skepticism keeps her from committing to that line of thought. Anyone could have been put in her place, she could just as easily see Sakiko, Chisato, or even Erika somehow finding themselves in this predicament.

She’d rather it be her than anyone else. In all honesty, even if it isn’t karma at work, if anyone deserves to suffer like this it’s her. But, that doesn’t make it any easier. Nothing can make this easy. This is only the second fucking day of the bet and she’s had a gun pointed at her. She hates this, she hates being stuck with those men and for no other reason than Ichinomiya gets a kick out of it.

Her sobs fade to whimpers and sniffles. She tries to wipe the mess of tears off of her face. She’s got to win this bet, she can’t let this drag on for more than two weeks. Tsuneko remembers the deadlines she’s looked into for applying to those smaller colleges back into Kyushu. She wants to win this damn bet and get as far away from this hotel as she can.

The alternative makes a fresh batch of tears fall from her eyes. She can’t live like this and running away wouldn’t be an option. She’d rather die than have to deal with them beyond that, but not at any of their hands. If she loses, she’d rather go out on her own terms. Memories of thick woven rope she bought a while back comes to mind, it’s been sitting at the back of her closet since she moved into the dorms.

She shakes her head, she’ll cross that bridge when she gets to it. Tsuneko forces herself back up to her feet, she’s got shit to do right now. Her legs are like jelly as she stands up and changes into her street clothes. Twelve more days, that’s all she has to survive, no matter what.

#kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb #eisuke ichinomiya #Soryu Oh #ota kisaki #mamoru kishi #Mitsunari Baba #black market wonderland #kbtbb eisuke #kbtbb soryu #kbtbb ota #kbtbb mamoru #kbtbb baba #rhion hatter #kbtbb rhion

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