Chapter Text
"I do not like him already."
Ivlis had been sitting down waiting for his client for way too many minutes for his tastes, his legs hurting for the sitting position he had been in for the whole time. At least, all the pigs that came to see him didn't waste any second, especially after all the money spent. Yet, this new client had apparently decided to do a little parade to show off -at least, this was what he heard from one of the workers at the tea house-, as if the fact that he bought an oiran's time wasn't already something extraordinary that could bring envy to many.
If Ivlis could, he would have already turned him down, not looking forward to see his client's face for he would have had an hard time trying to not punch him. Oh he was getting so much stressed and pissed that he even abandoned the uncomfortable position to let some tension abandon his shoulders; however, this little break didn't last much since Poemi, the youngest of Ivlis's shinzo, caught the oiran's attention by gasping aloud;
"They are coming!"
She had spent the last minutes with her ear pressed against the sliding door to listen to every noise, too impatient to wait the client in her seat. She was a young and energetic girl of age 14, whose vivacious smile always managed to bring ease to Ivlis's heart, enough to consider her close to a daughter. She too happened to be an han'yō, together with Emalf, other shinzo that always accompanyed the oiran.
"And they seem to be a lot from the noises," Poemi mumbled while adjusting her own kimono, careful to look as much presentable as possible to avoid any scolding from her dear Buriran-sama, who she admired a lot.
'Alright...' on the other hand Ivlis thought to himself to calm down his nerves, even closing his honey-like eyes to collect all of his thoughts, '...time to get to work.'
He needed to be completely expressionless, as his main duty was just to show off his own beauty, rising even more the client's desire to possess him: too bad that it wasn't going to happen.
That's when the door bursted opened, causing a way too loud sound to echo in the room, followed by the noises of the steps of one....no, three...no...ten men entering the room.
'This is going to give me an headache.'
If Ivlis didn't have to maintain a stoic expression, he would have sighed aloud, especially for how he noticed how all men were -unfortunately for him- han'yū, all of their horns proudly standing on their heads. Why was that so terrible? Well, all of his previous clients that happened to be han'yū were overly narcissistic and confident in themselves, enough to sound unpleasant and boring to be with. Surely those ten men weren't too different from the previous clients that Ivlis had the misfortune of meeting. Maybe with some luck they were going to pass out after some drinks.
That's when Ivlis noticed a tall man entering the room with a solemn pace, his left arm standing right on the katana's scabbard, which was completely black and adorned with leaves drawn with gold. He seemed to have a slim figure, while his clothes looked quite fancy: it was a kimono made of the finest purple fabric, colour quite unusual to wear, especially when meeting an oiran. It wasn't hard to guess how he was an eccentric figure. However, what most caught Ivlis's attention was surely his face: his eyes were big and purple, shining in clear arrogance, while his hair were as dark as the night. But the most difficult detail to ignore was surely how the man had two big horns that resembled small trees, so peculiar in colour and shape.
It was quite obvious how he was the client, not only for the smug smile adorning his features, but also for how all the other ten men had moved at his sides, forming a path that would have brought him to the oiran. It was clear how he was sure to have everyone under his fingers; pity that Ivlis wasn't feeling flattered in the slightest by the new guest, seeing him just one of the many.
He wasn't anything special.
"Welcome young masters!"
Soon the high voices of the two shinzō resonated in the room, followed by a bow. They were always so respectful, truly diligent apprentices, even if Ivlis had to admit that the times in which he scolded them were more than the ones he praised them. At least, they had learnt how to treat costumers correctly.
What none expected was how the main client had the guts to ignore the two young shinzō and smile directly at the oiran, stepping on all the rules and boundaries that everyone -who willingly and who grumpily- strictly followed;
"What's the name of this oiran? Is it Beauty-san by any chance?" he stated with a smug smile on his face, surely proud for the name he had come up with, at which some of the other men snickered, encouraging that broken humour.
"I only heard some voices about your exquisite pretty face and I am more than happy to witness that I wasn't lied to."
More laughs followed his words, some men looking back at forth between the tall man and the oiran, who on the other hand looked as stern as ever, no emotions showing in his eyes: that situation was enough to confirm Ivlis's suspicions.
"It's Buriran-san, young master," Poemi immediately interrupted the chorus of laughter with an innocent smile, trying to cover up her frown: it wasn't that rare meeting men as arrogant as the one proudly standing there and the only way to deal with them was showing a smile, the most powerful weapon of a courtesan.
Luckily she managed to catch the attention of the black haired man, even if there were no signs of his mischievous expression fading away, almost anticipating his next words;
"Then will this Buriran-san entertain me? I have come a long way to see the oiran so I expect the best of the best for me and my men."
As a way to underline his words, the man that didn't even reveal his name sat down, right in front of Ivlis, his hand resting on a tea table. He acted exactly like the type of person that didn't follow any type of rules, imposing whatever he wanted on the others, expecting to be served and reverenced: this was the exact impression that the oiran got, his claws clenching on the sleeves of his kimono in frustration; he definitely looked forward to the third day if it meant to be able to turn the smug asshole down.
Luckily Poemi seemed to have learnt from all the scolding she received along her career, her smile not fading away even if provoked by the impertinent and cocky smiles of the eleven men, especially of the one that acted like their boss.
"I will be the one serving you today, young masters," the girl stated and bowed her head to the arrogant man, her movements followed by Emalf as well, whose eyes couldn't help but gaze over the oiran a few times, in search of any type of silent indication, only to be met by a look that clearly told him to behave: upsetting the client would have only done worst, especially in that moment of slight tension.
In any case, at the young girl's statement, the black haired man simply widened his smile and rised an hand up, soundly snapping his fingers to call the attention of all the other ten men, only a simple murmur leaving his lips as he fleetingly gazed at the oiran: "We shall start then."
"Finally! I was getting bored," a blue haired man sighed loudly as he sat beside his -apparently- superior, followed by another one of his companions, who on the other hand looked more annoyed;
"Shut up."
His words too sounded enraged, his feminine features contorted in a frown, which only widened as someone else intruded in the conversation.
"Don't get started you two. Let's just enjoy some sake together," a man with a black cotton mask covering half of his face stated, his eyes gazing around in search of something, surely alcohol since his crimson eyes lit up in excitement at the thought of being able to drink.
"Indeed, it's the right moment for some sake!" Poemi followed along with a smile and took a ceramic container she had previously put on her side, elegantly pouring the warm and strong liquid on a small black cup, waiting for the tall purple eyed man to take it and drink it. In truth it was still quite early for some alcohol but the more they got wasted, the faster they could go away, giving some time to rest at the three courtesans.
Ivlis was watching the whole scene in silence, focusing his attention particularly on the client, analyzing him even more carefully: from how he drank his sake and his manners it was as clear as the day that he came from a very important family, not that it mattered since inside the ochaya the oiran was the most important figure, even if more often than not the clients that arrived forgot that particular, bossing the two young shinzō around. Luckily the man he had received had the decency to keep his mouth shut for some time, probably lost in some type of deep meditation.
Unfortunately it didn't last long.
"This sake is superb, almost like the one I drink back in my castle."
Castle? At the new learnt information, Ivlis slightly lowered his gaze down: was he a lord of some sort? That would explain the arrogance that unites all the eleven men sitting in front of him, their loud voices already giving an headache to Ivlis.
Poemi too looked surprised at the new information, her eyes lighting up in genuine interest; after all, it was her first time talking with someone that possessed a castle.
"Is young master's castle big?"
So she asked with excitement, her small body slightly leaning towards the one of the tall man, who simply chuckled and took another gulp of sake.
"It's very very big," he stated with a wide smile, obversing the oiran with the corners of his eyes, making it clear to who in truth he was talking to, "I have enough rooms to let the whole city rest."
"It's amazing young master! You must be very rich!"
The shinzō was the voice of an oiran so Poemi had the responsibility to gather as many informations as possible, especially on how much rich the client was. Even if it was quite clear that he had a good income for how he had paid for ten other men to meet the oiran.
"In fact, I am the richest of all," the man replied and shifted his cup closer to the girl, encouraging her to pour more.
'What a joke,' Ivlis simply thought as he listened to the client, fighting the strong need to roll his eyes. He wasn't believing one bit that he seriously was the richest in the city: surely he was just the first son of some important family that liked to stretch about what doesn't exist, nothing else. If only he didn't need to keep silent the first two appointments, he would have already snickered sarcastically at the arrogant big baby he had the unfortune to listen to; it didn't matter how he was sitting far away, he could still hear every single word and catch all the gazes he was receiving.
That's when suddenly another one of the other ten men pointed his finger towards Emalf, a menacing smile appearing on his face as began talking, loud enough to be heard clearly by everyone;
"Since we are so many, I think the other shinzō should serve me," he stated while moving his finger in circles, as if trying to outline Emalf's face, who on the other hand looked visibly bothered by that sudden attention.
"Heheh Dokugai you are scaring her," a man with his eyes covered snickered after observing the scene in silence, getting cut off by a seemingly young boy, his black tail weaving around innocently as he pondered aloud: "Why scaring? I don't see anything bad in his proposal."
His words were hiding a clear hint of malice, only making Emalf panick and sweat more, his eyes searching for Ivlis's help, who on the other hand kept on staring at his client: he had to learn what to do in these situations alone.
Luckily the young shinzō got -accidently- helped by the murmur of a long haired man sitting in the corner, his red eyes staring right into his own cup of sake;
"I would like to be served by the oiran..."
Surely his words were meant to be a thought getting lost in the loud atmosphere, not expecting for his blue haired companion to pick it up, a loud laugh leaving his mouth as he stated: "Then go over the porcelain doll and get the honour to talk with her."
Not only Ivlis's gaze became sharper at being called a «porcelain doll», even the main client frowned in displeasure and put his cup down.
The air got tense all over again, silence suddenly falling, if not for the sounds of cups being filled by a nervous Poemi that decided to watch the scene without muttering a word: the fate of a courtesan was truly unfortunate since, no matter how much she would have liked to be loud and intrude in that discussion, Poemi couldn't say anything, if not to compliment the clients and encourage them to spend more on them.
"Who gave you the right to speak?"
Suddenly a cold voice cut the girl's thoughts, for a moment fearing that it was meant to her for accidentally saying her thoughts aloud. Yet, when she rised her gaze, she saw a goat-looking han'yō staring down the men who had previously spoken, a chill causing her to slightly tremble.
"What? Aren't we here to part-"
"Who.gave.you.the.right.to.speak?"
The man kept on menacingly scold his companions, his anger rising at every word they said, until the long haired man sighed loudly and murmured: "I was just saying..."
Once again, Ivlis watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes in silence, not looking particularly interested in the two men getting scolded. Instead, he gave some furtive gazes at his apprentices to make sure everything was fine with them: one false move and the situation could get immediately worst.
"Well well."
That's when the sound of two hands clapping echoed in the room, followed by the assertive voice of none other than the main client, his purple eyes meeting the crimson ones of the angered man, "it's true that we are here to party, Envi."
At getting called, Envi looked a few times back and forth between the two scolded men and the black haired han'yū, a small sigh leaving his lips as he muttered: "Yes, my Lord."
"But,"
Yet, the client didn't seem to have finished in his discourse, his eyes immediately meeting the ones of the oiran, locking gazes to make sure he was getting listened to, "it's also true that I am the only one that will be served by the oiran."
He looked overly confident in himself, his words only angering more Ivlis, who was clenching his fingers on the sleeves so hard that for a moment he thought he was ripping his kimono apart.
"After all..."
He was doing it on purpose, just to rise the tension in the room, even if the oiran had to admit that he was feeling quite curious to know what else the arrogant man was going to say, maybe for once something intelligent leaving his lips that night.
"...I am Satanick-sama."
As the name reached his ears, Ivlis widened his eyes and stared in disbelief at the man, because he...
....didn't have any idea of who he was.
Was this Satanick so arrogant to seriously think that everyone knew? Plus, what kind of name was that? It sure was as particular and exuberant as the man himself, who at the moment was smiling all proudly to himself, as if he had just revealed an important information.
Pity that Ivlis was going to forget his name by the end of the night.
Probably noticing the fake astonishment on the oiran's face, Poemi immediately exclaimed «Satanick-sama!» to catch the man's attention, fearing that the he was going to understand how much unflattered Ivlis actually was. She as well had no idea of who it was and so did Emalf, who slowly pulled a shamisen from his side, finally taking an initiative for the night.
"Since Satanick-sama is here we should celebrate with a song!" he kept going with a wide smile on his face, his proposal causing for Satanick to rise his cup in pride and exclaim: "Now we are getting somewhere!"
The two young shinzō could feel their back drenched in cold sweat, especially for they had the attentions of eleven different men on them, waiting for some sort of great spectacle; at least, theu managed to shift the attention of everyone from who was the arrogant client, avoiding any type of hostility.
"The first song will be for my oiran," Satanick turned once again his gaze on Ivlis, staring at him even as he drank his sake, blissfully unaware of how the oiran was thinking about breaking all the rules and give him a piece of his mind, but no...he had to resist; after all, the eleven men were supposedly going to drink so much that in a few moments they were going to be sleeping on the floor.
Yes, at least he was going to have some rest....
...or maybe not.
It had probably been hours since Emalf proposed a song, only to end up doing a whole performance with some of the men that were now laying down on the floor, completely fatigued by all the singing and drinking. What was the problem with that? That only Satanick -alongside Envi- was the only one left standing, filling the entire room with futile chatters on how he «was so great» or how «much rich he was», enough to «buy the entire Yuukaku», according to what he said.
There seemed to be no end to the man's arrogance, only getting more and more on Ivlis's nerves, who was thinking about seriously getting up and slap an hand over his mouth, just to shut him up. At least, it was entertaining seeing this Satanick brag about his perspicacity when he still didn't understand how «his dear oiran» was a male, keeping on refering to him by using female pronouns.
What a windbag.
"Satanick-sama seems to be so strong and talented!" Poemi chirped and clapped her hands in fake glee, reciting a script she had to use with all the clients to make them feel welcome enough that they felt the need to come back: Satanick was no exception.
"You are correct. I have trained all my life so I am the most talented man you can ever meet," the man laughed to himself in reply, "I could let you assist to one of my trainings sometim-"
"Satanick-sama."
However, apparently the oiran wasn't the only one that had gotten extremely tired of all that empty chatters, since soon the han'yō called Envi got up from his seat and observed his Lord with a stern gaze.
"What is it Envi?" Satanick asked while turning around, meeting the crimson eyes of the other man, clearly not pleased for getting interrupted like that when he was trying to not-so-indirectly show off to the oiran. Yet, the subordinate didn't seem too much bothered by his master's tone, keeping on with his discourse;
"Lil-san is waiting for you."
'Lil-san?'
At the name Ivlis frowned his eyebrows, wondering if it was going to be his saviour for the night: the simple idea of finally getting away from the grip of the overly talkative man was giving way too much adrenaline to be able to sit still for longer.
"Oh but I still haven't got to fully enjoy the company of these good ladies."
'You have been here for enough hours.'
Oh Ivlis was begging for him to get away, feeling himself reach the limit of endurance. He had already met arrogant clients but this Satanick was on another level, especially since he always managed to make any discourse about him.
"Oh but young master! We have plenty of time to spend together," Poemi intruded, she as well feeling too tired to be able to resist any longer: that man was just too much.
"Next time we can play a game together," Emalf intervened as well, both shinzō following a clear objective: making sure that Satanick was coming back.
Luckily at the proposal the man seemed quite pleased, a satisfied smile forming on his face as he got up.
"Fine, so shall it be," he stated while looking at Ivlis for what could have been the hundredth time that day, once again receiving back an expressionless gaze; in fact, as much as the oiran was tired, he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of receiving any sort of reaction.
"What about the others?" suddenly the loyal servant asked, turning around to look at the rest of the group all passed out on the ground, a scene that could be considered pitiful since han'yū were supposed to be stronger at drinking...what a big lie.
However, Satanick simply shrugged his shoulders, looking more entertained than bothered by all that.
"They are big enough to find the way home alone," he began while walking towards the door, stopping in his tracks only to gaze back at Envi with a mischievous smile, sparkles lighting up his purple eyes as he said: "Consider it a little payback for their words of before."
At those words the goat-looking man simply stared in silence at his Lord, not even bothering to mutter a protest; he looked quite used to initiatives like that one.
"Well," lastly Satanick began while staring intensively at the oiran, "see you next time...Beautyran-san."
What?
How did he still dare?
If it wasn't for the fact that he had disappeared immediately after his impertinent words, Ivlis would have already screamed at him, his eyes almost spurting out flames in anger: who did that Satanick think he was for calling him so freely «Beautyran-san» and for mangling his already terrible name?
Usually Ivlis should have waited for all the men to leave the ochaya but that day he was particularly tired, his legs begging to be stretched after hours of just motionless sitting down.
"Buriran-sama?" Poemi pondered in surprise as she watched the oiran walk towards the door, uncaring of the men he was stepping on, only stopping to stare back at his apprentices, his lips moving almost imperceptibly to mouth a clear order: "Let's go."
He wasn't going to stand there a minute more, not when he seriously risked to hurt someone in anger; after all, he had been disrespected enough that day.
That's why Ivlis didn't hesitate walking away, deciding to wait for the two shinzō outside, waiting for the chilly air to calm him down a bit.
He only wanted to go to bed and hope that the remaining two dates were going to pass as fast as possible, so to be able to reject that arrogant wastrel.