Thank you so much for all the love this fic has gotten so far!! Hope you guys enjoy whatever comes next hahahh

-----

The next morning, Yona and her band of bodyguard Beasts and Dragons set out to venture into the city, hoods and hats carefully fixed onto their heads to hide their flashy features. Those who were bold enough to go without, well, went without. Whether they'd bring any more attention to themselves than their hair or features did on their own, only time would tell.

"Let's see.." Yoon started. "The direction Kija and Shin-Ah directed us, places the Rokuryuu near... the shoreline on the outskirts of the port! Hm.. so that means he isn't even in the town at all."

"That's too bad," Yona hummed, slightly disappointed.

"Yeah..."

"Well," Hak sighed, gathering himself up. "I'll go and head off into town on my own."

"Hah?? What? Why?"

"I want to look at the weapons in town," he justified, handing his glaive to Kija, whose dragon arm would probably be able to handle its weight, unlike Yoon's frail stature. "I'm the only one who knows about these kinds of stuff... Actually," his eyes then shifted towards Chiaki, who blinked when they crossed gazes. "You know what? Chiaki, you know your way around blades too. Tag along."

"Huh? Wha--- Me?" Chiaki blinked, confused and unable to decipher the meaningful look Hak was trying to send him. "O-Oh, alright then..."

Standing up, he dusted up the few pieces of dirt that tattered his robes, picking himself up to stand near his fellow guard.

"Hak..." Yona called out to the taller, slightly worried and confused.

Hak merely huffed a smile, reassuringly patting his charge's head. If Chiaki could capture this moment of tenderness between the two, he immediately would've jumped to do it. Too bad he didn't bring any painting equipment, safe for some ink and an old notebook, but even if he did, he probably wouldn't have been able to capture the candid feel of the moment anyways.

Yoon merely sighed, before he regarded the Thunder Beast with pointed eyes. "Well, make sure you actually but something this time. And don't drag the Umeryuu into any trouble, alright? You two are flashy enough on your own---and make sure his hat doesn't fall off, you hear me?"

Chiaki almost pouted. "I'm not a child, I can look after myself perfectly fine, Yoon."

Yoon scoffed. "Uh-huh. Sure you can, Mister I-can-run-for-days-non-stop."

"Alright, alright..."

And with that, the two human Beasts took off. Chiaki occasionally looked back to wave them more see-you-laters than necessary, as if he was worried that they might forget them while they were in town. He wanted to imprint this image of them walking in their heads, just to make sure they would remember.

Once they were far enough away from the rest of their group, Chiaki tentatively turned to look up to his fellow guard, a clear look of confusion on his face.

"So.. Do you actually need me for weapon browsing, sir, or... or is there something else..?"

Hak spared him a small glance as they walked, before he let out a small sigh. "Remember what happened yesterday? No doubt, the officials will probably be on the lookout for us and that other guy. Hopefully, they didn't catch much of your features since you had your hat on, but it'll be better to stick together in case anything bad happens."

Chiaki blinked a few times before he properly registered what Hak might've been implying, before it finally rang clear in his mind.

"Oh! Yes, I guess it would be better to have us separate from the group, in this case... It'll cause Yona and the others some trouble if we went together and the officers found us..."

Hak nodded, casually reaching over to ruffle him on the head. "Precisely. Good job."

"Well, you had to point it out to me," Chiaki slightly pouted, alert on high when he felt the touch on his hair. He had always been sensitive about people touching it without warning, but since it was Hak---who he has known for over a decade already---he let it be. "So it seems to me that I did a pretty mediocre job in trying to figure out what you tried to convey."

"You still did it," Hak shrugged. "We need to get you to practice how to read faces some more. We've kinda neglected that recently."

Chiaki looked down, smiling softly as he remembered the old days. "Yeah.. And, General Hak... I never really thanked you for helping me, all these years. You're always there for me, so.." Chiaki sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Thank you, sir. For being so nice to me."

"What are you getting so sappy for?" Hak chuckled lightly. "Ohh... Don't tell me... Is it your time of the month?"

"No! What are you---? I'm not even a girl!"

Hak cackled, head tilting back in his mirth and laughter. Chiaki had to hold himself back from smacking the guy, but he decided he'd much rather let his friend have his fun---Chiaki hasn't seen Hak smile this wide in the past few days. This moment was a parting of clouds, a moment of relief that he felt for the former general, who he often worried was going to overwork himself from stress on the road.

"Oh hey." Hak suddenly stopped, looking up a little further away from where they stood.

Chiaki turned towards where he was looking, and was suddenly greeted with the sight of a familiar tall man.

"You!" the stranger smiled in recognition.

"You're the guy from yesterday..."

The man smirked, almost flashing a small pose when Hak recognized him. Chiaki slightly shifted himself to stand behind Hak---something about this man was off, and Chiaki didn't know how to describe how he made him feel. He didn't know what it meant, but it was prominent and nagging at his head, as if calling.

"Well, well! Fancy meeting you two here!" the man grinned, a hand on his chest. He looked almost too pleased to see them again, despite only meeting once and leaving without even getting properly acquainted. His presence was delighted and flowery, eyes twinkling happily at the sight of them.

"What a coincidence," Hak shortly greeted back. "You came back here, even after what happened yesterday?"

Chiaki hummed, worriedly peering over from behind Hak's frame. He anxiously tilted his rice hat a little higher, just enough for the man to see his eyes. "I thought you would've gone into hiding or something... Aren't the officials on your tail? I'm pretty sure they saw your face, back then, please be careful..."

The man merely grinned, before he slid in between them, hooking both of his arms around their shoulders. Chiaki startled at the touch, not used to strangers pulling him in for what would usually be a more friendly kind of contact. Especially when said stranger was incredibly tall, solidly-built and intimidatingly handsome. And that hair. It was really long and luscious.

"I can say the same for you guys! Assaulting officers and pinning one down with knives..." The man slowly grinned. "Hey, so, since we ran into each other again.." There was a small twinkle in his eyes that made Chiaki slightly nervous for their fate. "Say, you guys wanna come somewhere with me for a while? It's not too far."

Hak looked hesitant, occasionally looking at Chiaki, who was slowly trying to pry the man's arm off of his shoulders, looking comically out of place beside two men that were way taller than he was. Hak noted how the guy's face was dusted a faint pink, probably from the brief panic or fluster that came with physical touch, so early in their meeting with this stranger.

"No, actually we---"

The man then leaned down, pulling both Hak and Chiaki down to the same levels so that he can whisper in their ears, voice low enough for no one to hear them.

"Thing is," he started discretely. "Someone's after me."

"... The authorities?"

"Wah... are they dangerous?" Chiaki muttered, brows drawn together in concern. "Are you being hunted? That's worrying..."

"Um.. something like that," the stranger mused. He took a glance at Chiaki's expression, and judging by the way he was quick to clarify, Chiaki guessed he was wearing a face that conveyed his great distraught over the matter. "No worries, I won't get you guys involved."

Hak and Chiaki shared a glance.

There was a slight movement to Hak's eyes and brows, trying to convey him something Chiaki wasn't able to properly decipher.

Chiaki felt panic well in his stomach, incredibly confused about what he should do with Hak's meaningful look.

"A-Alright, we'll go!" he quickly stuttered out, looking back to the man, completely ignoring how Hak's face fell and buried into one of his hands---he probably didn't read him right, but it didn't matter now. The deed was done, Hak couldn't refuse the invitation anymore, unless he wanted to leave Chiaki alone with the stranger.

Hak held back a grimace.

He did kind of promise Yoon to keep Chiaki out of trouble.

He let out a deep sigh.

"Yeah alright. We'll go."

-----

Chiaki was aware since a long while ago that his attraction and taste in potential love interests didn't necessarily abide by the norm of society, here in Kouka.

It was a slow realization, obviously---for who immediately knew from the moment of their birth of their personal preferences? For Chiaki, it began with him slowly starting to take notice of how he wasn't as nervous or flustered as he was with women than how he was with men, and that realization finally ended with his first confirmation that he had a small crush on Hak, a few years back.

He didn't really do anything about it, though. He just let it be until his feelings passed---that was how it had always been with his very few, very rare, crushes in life.

Besides, how was he even going to explain to another man that he, another man, had taken a fancy to them? There were very few who were open about their orientation, and those who were, weren't often regarded justly by society, much to his great fear and dismay. He didn't want to risk outing himself, just to end up miserable when people decided they wouldn't accept him as he was, so he merely opted to keep it to himself.

Besides, Chiaki never really had the time and opportunity to pursue love. He had better things to do, and with his life as both a bodyguard and a servant back at the castle, he had too much on his plate to ever have time to search for a companion. And to be fair, he honestly doubted anyone would take a liking to him---there was no place for him, a small purple-haired boy whose interest lay elsewhere out of the norm. He knew for a fact that most women liked taller, broader men, and most men liked beautiful women. They belonged with each other, and there was simply no place for a cut-sleeve in that equation.

Which brings him to his current point:

Yeah. Chiaki thinks he's inside of a brothel.

The stranger, Hak and him were all seated on different sides of their square table, sitting in an almost awkward silence as they stared at the small cups and platters of food before them. Beautiful women were surrounding them at various points in the room, and Chiaki didn't know how to feel about it.

He may not be interested in women, but he wasn't blind or stupid---they were all incredibly beautiful, and to deny it would mean he was a fool. He was slightly ashamed to even admit it to himself, but they almost made him self-conscious. Any kind of man could enter this room and they'd immediately glance over to these ladies, and probably wouldn't even spare him a single look.

Chiaki sighed to himself.

Just sitting there made him feel slightly out of place, but he then remembered his past relationships with the court maidens back at the palace, and figured this shouldn't be any different---they were all girls, after all, regardless of their profession. Thus, maybe he would be able to strike up a brief friendship with one of these girls, if he could only muster the same amount of courage he did needed with the women-in-waiting. He then remembered how befriending his co-workers in the castle took him several months and even years, and immediately felt his confidence drop, aware of how impossible it would be to just talk to someone out of the blue without beforehand preparation.

"Hey, so..." Hak started, noticing how Chiaki uncomfortably shifted in his seat at being in such an unfamiliar environment. "Why are we here in the middle of the day?"

Chiaki nodded to himself, sheepishly accepting a drink from one of the women. He clumsily thanked the girl, taking a sip of the drink before choking when he realized it was alcohol, feeling the embarrassment creep up the back of his neck when the girl giggled, saying something about how cute he was.

"Well, it's easier to hide in a place like this."

"Really?" Hak scoffed, looking almost amused. "It seems exactly like the kind of place that perv of an officer would stroll into."

Chiaki sipped at the glass of water he was then provided in the place of the alcohol he couldn't swallow, trying to occupy himself so that his arms wouldn't be left to awkwardly dangle by his sides.

"..I want to leave..." he quietly lamented into his cup.

The man across the table grinned. "This isn't your sort of spot?"

If the women were replaced with men, maybe, Chiaki immediately thought, before he mentally slapped himself a dozen times or more. He figured he probably would've died on the spot before he even had the chance to encounter such a scenario. Feeling a massive blush crawl up his face at the multitude of thoughts swarming his mind, Chiaki quickly shook it off, not wanting to overheat his poor soul with ideas he couldn't quite handle.

"It's not that," Hak merely shrugged, indifferent and oblivious to his friend's inner dilemma. It was easy for him to reply, mainly because most of his interest resided with a certain blush of dawn haired girl. "I'm more into gambling dens, though."

There were a few more women coming up to Chiaki now, some of them playing with his hair. He vaguely heard one them moment about how soft and pretty it was, and he felt himself wanting to run away once again, not enjoying the amount of attention he was receiving. He was a bit sensitive about his hair---not the way Yona used to be, but in a way that it sometimes felt like touching it was something reserved for a lover to do. There was just... something inside him that told him that. But if it were a close friend, he didn't mind, but honestly, he was just a nervous mess in general.

He then sighed once again, trying to calm himself away from the amount of eyes on him. Maybe if he was dancing, such an audience he would've been comfortable with, but he was currently just a customer in a brothel, sitting somewhere he shouldn't even be.

From under the table, he lightly stretched out his leg to kick Hak in the shin and sent the man a look that, unlike him, he knew Hak would be able to decipher.

"Anyways, we don't have time to be hanging around here." Standing up, Hak turned towards Chiaki and nodded towards the door. "Come on, let's get out of this place."

Chiaki didn't hesitate to stand up, sheepishly pushing away the hands of the few girls that found themselves fascinated with his purple hair, and made his way towards the general until one of the girls immediately latched herself to Hak's back.

"No no~! Stay a little longer, mister!"

Hak merely spared her a look, narrow eyes calmly resting on her form in casual disinterest.

The girl didn't hesitate to swoon, seemingly daunting into the arms of one of her coworkers, a hand over her forehead and heart.

"I-It's just... Your eyes are so piercing, sir!"

Same, though, Chiaki quietly muttered under his breath, before he quickly shut himself up. He cautiously looked over to one of the girls, feeling slightly afraid for their reaction, but he found himself yelping in surprise when one girl put her hands to her mouth and squeezed him into a hug. In his panic, he only vaguely heard her say something about how cute he was, before he blocked everything out, trying to regain his calm.

The stranger man, amidst all of this, only looked excited as he regarded Hak with sparkling eyes. "Can you try that on me? It looked fun!"

"I didn't do anything," Hak deadpanned almost tiredly, sneaking an exasperated glance towards Chiaki who was being smothered by one of the girls, and then to the door. "Besides, there're tons of beautiful women from where I come from. This isn't that exciting for me."

"Really!" the other man delightfully gasped. "And where might this wondrous place be?"

"Fuu---... uh." Hak quickly caught himself, before he casually propped an elbow onto the table. "Hey, those are some unusual clothing you're wearing. Where were you born?"

"Huh?! Me? Well, I, uh.."

Chiaki witnessed a very uncomfortable moment of awkward silence before him, from over the arms of the girl that was currently latched onto him. He was relieved that she had slightly calmed down, now only stroking his hair as he sat, slender fingers brushing and playing with his purple locks. He didn't have the heart to push her away.

"Here! I was born here!" their company nearly stuttered out. "These clothes were imported from the Kai Empire. Beautiful aren't they?"

"Oh... The Kai Empire, huh?"

"Well, this is a port town, after all! You can get all manner of things here."

"Speaking of the town," Hak lightly paused, eyes shifting towards the large window in the room. "There's something weird about this place. At first glance, it seems normal, but everyone's eyes are so lifeless in this place." He glanced over to Chiaki, who's form suddenly stilled at his words. "Ever since we came here, you also felt something was off, right?"

Chiaki paused, suddenly forgetting about the girl playing with his hair.

"I.." Chiaki hesitated, hunching over himself. He suddenly found himself leaning into the girl's touch on his head, gentle and comforting, as if craving the warmth of another human to fill in for what he was currently lacking. The cold in his chest was slowly starting the spread once again, now that he was paying it attention.

"The sight of the town... it filled me with a terror I didn't understand. Walking around a second time, I still don't understand what makes me feel this way just by being here. But there is definitely... something wrong with this place, but my mind can't seem to remember what it was."

"..." The man slowly smiled, hiding an impressed look behind his hand. "You guys are quite sharp, aren't you? Yang Kum-Ji, the man who controls all of Port Awa, is extremely powerful. All of the townspeople fear him."

Boom.

Dirty silk garments.

"He does nasty business that the government doesn't know about."

Boom.

Jewelry made of gold.

"Oh? How so?"

Boom.

Chiaki felt his chest go tight and inhumanely cold.

"Human trafficking."

There was a last flash of memory that hit his mind. Incredibly vivid but so fleeting and short-lived. He didn't manage to catch much, for it racked through his head with lightning speed, leaving just as fast as it came.

But he remembered one thing:

The dreadfully cold sensation in his chest, and the figure of a man staring down at him from on top.

Chiaki felt his entire body go numb for a second, not even feeling the soft touch of the girl playing with his hair---the warmth of her hand dousing out with the icy dread seeping into him.

Boom.

The sound of a drum.

He grips at his chest.

It feels incredibly cold.

The memories flood back into the void, and he forgets.

¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 10

ladies of the night