Cabaret Girls (Majima x F)

The Proposition (Against Majima)

Despite her mind spinning fairy tales, by the time they made it to her home, unscathed and well, the fire within was beginning to burn away. Every time Majima looked her way, there was a spark of revival, but it was manageable. At least, until they got to the doorstep of her apartment.

Stopping, she turned to Majima, fidgeting with her hands as she swayed and tried to bring into words everything that was going through her mind. The little pieces were like a puzzle that just barely fit together but not quite. "I... I um..."

"Don't gotta force anything out for me," Majima waved off the attempt, hiding behind a look of indifference. "Welcome home. Ya should get in there before our night gets anymore interesting,"

But! There was so much she wanted to say and thank him for! She wanted to have the courage to tell him 'you saved my life, my knight deserves a kiss'! And yet, pouting up at him, seeing him avoid the display of disappointment for her sake, she finally had it! There was no more controlling herself-

"Oh, Majima-san!" Misako jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking him down into an embrace. Her hugs were always a little off- despite being on the shorter side, she loved over-the-shoulder hugs, and Majima reaped the consequences of such a thing, forced to stoop down with a gasp of surprise and a stagger to keep balance. Her goal: show she cared, allow him freedom, then turn tail and run into her apartment and lock the door behind her like a bat out of hell. It would be exhilarating! And embarrassing-... But worth it!

Instead, it was her turn to be astonished;

Majima, with the power of a dragon, secured her in place against him as he rose to his full height and swept her off her feet, giving a spin that made laughter she didn't even know she had inside, expell in such a joyous, happy noise, it even surprised herself as the wind was torn from her lungs in a silly giggling, the world still spinning when she was set back on her feet. "Whoa! M-"

"Ahaha! You're so goddamn cute!" Majima laughed, giving a little pap on her head. "Ya really got it all. Now, before you get all sentimental and thank me for whatever-...
Rest easy!" he slipped his bat out of her bag and was already walking away, resting it on his shoulder as he turned and walked backwards, pointing at her. "And ya better heal up! Training starts as soon as your head stops looking like a wrecked banana!"

"Uh, yeah! Okay! Goodnight!" and before he was out of sight, she retreated into her apartment.

What a horrible, wonderful, crazy day...
She could get used to things like that.

~~~~~~~

A long sleep later, she awoke with an imprint of her wrinkled blanket on her cheek, hair a mess, and with a dab of saliva at the corner of her lips. With everything, she expected to be unable to sleep, but with so much excitement it seemed her brain needed adequate time to process the bullshit. Checking her head in the mirror, her bruise was as bold as it would get (hopefully no more), and so there was nothing to do but have a day off and enjoy herself. Problem was, days off were rare and she usually spent it sleeping, and as for today? She already slept. She ate. Now what?

An hour or so after noon, she received a knock on her apartment door. Finally! Majima could provide a good amount of entertainment. "Give me a sec!" she called out, pulling clothes on and and washing her face before answering her guest. With a smile, she flung the door open. "Good afternoon, M-...!"

A hot yakuza didn't greet her. No, the ugly mugs before her were yakuza, but with faces smashed in, the three before her became grossly familiar. The yakuza in the gold suit stepped forward, grabbing the door handle in a vice like grip. "Here's that fiesty kitty cat who sicced her dog on us yesterday," he sneered and wedged his foot in the door. Misako's soul escaped her. Not a single thought went through her head as she stumbled back into a wall, flattening against it.

Deja vu.

She couldn't run past them. The windows were small and full of things to move out of the way before she could jump out. The kitchen was too far away to grab a carving blade. "Fuck,"

"Got nothing to do but listen to us now. We ain't gonna hurt you. Take it easy," the man kept from growling, as aggravated as he was. Slowly, he opened the door and all three men crowded in, shutting it behind them with a shell-shocking jerk into place. "This is about Majima. You will be filling the last open spot at his cabaret, is that right?"

The men grew taller like lengthening shadows as she slipped to the ground, not even realizing how her legs gave out. Battered faces made them look even worse than before. "I don't know anything about that; I haven't even been trained yet-" Lungs squeezed in a press of anxiety. She tried to breathe, failing at a simple inhale.

"We've been protecting you for years now. It's time for you to pay us back. Understood?"

"WHhat?" she breathed out in desperate confusion.

"We need you to spy on Majima. Get close to him. It seems he's taken a liking to you, so use that to your advantage- fuck him for all I care. Absolutely any information you have will be relayed to Me," The man in gold imposed, taking a step forward. There was no room left for reaction. She clung to herself and listened with a feeble nod. "You will call me Benjamin. I will be checking in on you every so often to gather resources. Tell anyone..." he heeled the floorboards, "And you'll be the new telltale heart. We hate that it's had to come to this, but the time's been ticking since you set foot in this godforsaken town, and we haven't seen so much as a single yen,"

-"S-sir?" she just barely blurted out. They crossed their arms, waiting. "You do know my name isn't Misako, don't you? It's actually-"

"Misako, Mertle, Maryjane. Doesn't matter what name you came up with; we know who you are," Benjamin scoffed. "Aren't you the child of Ivan and Hinoko Bloom?"

Misako went rigid. "... Yes... How... How do you know that?"

"Did I kick you too hard in the head? The fuck's the matter with you?" Benjamin hissed. "Men, let's hit the road. We said what we needed to,"

"Wait!" Misako scrambled up, "When are you coming back?"

"When I feel like it. Can't let you get Too comfortable. Be an agreeable cat and go fetch the dog and I'll be back later," Benjamin replied, his men guarding his back as they went to leave. She tried to object, to refute their claims or die trying, but even she couldn't understand what was going on to defend herself. Her door slammed shut and made her jump.

Like she was walking through water, she made it to her couch and melted into it, mind spinning up scenarios of when she'd contact the Yakuza for help and fail to remember it. Was it the work of alcohol? Drugs? Nothing made sense. Her mother and father were very distant and cold, and as soon as she was old enough, she took the initiative to get the hell out and move to the city for a new start in life. They were never outright abusive and she never made enemies. At first, everything in her new life was fresh and exciting, but the dawning realization of endless labor burnt her out. Still, there was never a reason to need drastic help, much less let them prey on her to protect her, knowing very well what those groups were capable of.

They wanted her to spy on Majima and gather intel...
Cross him and use him for her own advantage just to sell away the data for a safer life. It felt sickening. Majima-chan was a funny ray of sunshine in her depressing life. The Yakuza were dragging her down to hell and ordered her to drag Majima with them with a smile on her face. Worst of all, she didn't even know Why she needed to or Who the men were.

And why did they think they knew her?

She'd rather jump off a bridge than coax affections from Majima and manipulate him. But... One step at a time. Two steps forward, one step back. Breathe. Relax.

Life would go on.

Life had to go on.

She'd just have to make the most of it.