Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

45 • Mother

"This the place?" The confusion and skepticism in Baji's voice were natural. After all, the brothel looked more like a rip-off version of a vintage brownstone. It was located inside an alley, complete with an orange glow coming from the windows. Simply put, the place screamed 'poor' in medieval peasants. "You sure this ain't a place for serial killers?"

"If it is, I'll protect you guys."

"No offense, but I'll just be glad if you can protect yourself." Kazutora raised his hands in mock surrender when Reina turned to glare at him. However, his point was proven valid because Reina was wobbling up the stairs, acting stubbornly despite her injuries. "No, seriously. What is this place?"

"The two lower floors are used as a pub, the two floors above them as a place where illegal gambling and drug trafficking happen, and the three remaining floors above them as the living quarters slash brothel."

Okay, definitely not sketchy.

"So, your mom is a, um, a..."

"A whore? Probably." Stepping up the final steps, Reina steadied herself. To be honest, she had expected her birth mother, at the very least, to be a prostitute of sorts. That was, after all, the first conclusion she had reached when Father told her she was dumped in a dumpster as a newborn. She blamed that on the environment she grew up in. "I wonder what kinda reason she'll have."

When her knuckles met the door, the flimsy wood made a noise that was loud enough to wake a stray cat, and the boys cringed when the flap was forcibly slid open with a screech. A pair of droopy eyes glared down at them. "Diner's closed, kids"

"I have business with Kusariyama Mori."

"Come tomorrow, kid."

"Unfortunately, I don't think your customers will appreciate a sudden cop check because an anonymous tip said this place has a, hmm...what was it again?" Tilting her head to the side, Reina smiled. "A bloody mary with additional sugar and red spice, add some chips too." Reina clapped once as the pair of eyes glaring at her widened almost comically.

Tilting her head downwards, Reina made sure both her voice and her glare were cold as she ordered, "Call Kusariyama Mori and give us the most private room you have."

"That was lowkey hot," Kazutora muttered as the door was begrudgingly unlocked and slammed open. "What kind of code is that anyway?"

"A code for regulars," Reina explained in a whisper. "For context, bloody marys are basically tomato juice for alcoholics. They're spicy and salty and requesting extra sugar is a code for drugs. Chips as in poker chips, a code for gambling, and the red spice is for prostitution. Use them together and you're requesting the full package of drugs, prostitution, and gambling."

"Who the fuck uses that kind of code?"

"It's to avoid snitches." Reina shrugged. "I think they're cringe and old-fashioned as fuck though."

They were led up the stairs through a carpeted hall, stopping in front of one of the biggest VIP rooms of the brothel. In Reina's eyes, it was just a plain living room though. The four of them sat on one end of the couch, suffocating silence filling the room as they waited for the man to call her supposed mother.

Reina's shoes tapped against the pristine floor, creating a steady rhythm that didn't match her heartbeat. Sensing her anxiousness, Chifuyu squeezed her hand, giving her a reassuring grin. "Whatever happens, we're right behind ya."

"I still stand by what I said about just not meeting her."

"Or, Kazutora, listen to me, we can just beat her up if she says something rude."