Chapter 2: The Roommate

This was a revolt. A revolt to address every concern and stories behind each server of the Service Hub. A revolution that will shake the world of the red light district in the heart of Tokyo.

    "He sucks," Arlert, the blonde boy, insulted the client of Ryuu today. The 18 year old lad had done his service for the day an hour earlier than Ryuu who was a rookie in the place.

Arlert, not his real name and it was given to him by one of 'The Watchers' who adopted him when he was 8 years old. In the past, he was fragile and malnourished. Particularly, he belonged to one of the hapless children living in the street of the City. Ryuu, on the other hand, did not know about it entirely. The mysterious blonde boy only told him he started working in the red light district about a year when Ryuu came a month ago. Good thing, Arlert told him that he was living in the street and he had no family before he came to the Hub, although Ryuu did not buy it.

With his remarkable features, emanated from a wealthy family. He owned the eyes of sapphire, the white crystal colour of his porcelain skin, and golden locks that played around its curls on his small face. Who would abandon someone as beautiful as him?

    "He is stupid," Ryuu remarked. Even so, his 11th client was quite different to the other clients he accommodated. He recommended him to familiarize the Servers Manual, as if it was the real reason behind the boy's cause of why he was kidnapped.

Ryuu put his dress shirt on the top rail of the vintage chair, and took a plain white round neck T-shirt on their three-door armoire standing near the wall at the bottom of his bed. The wooden door crackled in his quick motion as he nearly closed it. The young man changed his uniform into a casual one. It comes with a black straight pants that were provided by the Hub. His only possession was the winter clothes, the clothes that his Father intentionally bought for him for the purpose of visiting his old friend.

At that time, he did not carry even a cent, and a boy who lived 500 kilometers away from Tokyo and resided at the bottom of the mountains; it was impossible  to have a mobile phone.

    "I have to go to the next town before supper. You'll wait for me?" Arlert assumed. Sitting down on his bed, his foot, which had a thin black sock on, reached the wooden floor and stood up on the bedside table between their mattress. He picked up an opened envelope emitting a floral scent.

It has a smooth like metallic finish, and the coral palette supplements the shimmering glow of the card. A golden color of a burlap ribbon loosely ties around. There was a black seal of an eagle, which separated warily in half. He gave it to Ryuu. The quiet one looked at him in question, his eyes diverted to the envelope in his hand, and slowly took out a finest Japanese linen paper which was crafted by a high quality ink that compliments the beautiful ornamental cursive of the owner's penmanship. Arlert giggled in excitement and hopped in the bed of his new trusted friend,

    "I have a date with a client. He's a son of a chief commander in the Military, and he asked me to accompany him on an event he needs to attend. He needs a partner." Ryuu looked at the smiling blonde beside him in a fret.

    "Military?? Why he chose you- I mean. He chose you as his?" Ryuu could not convey the right words not to sound unsupportive and a worry wart, though his heartbeat was pulsing at an abnormal rate. His friend was a server somewhere in the red light district. If what he said about not having a family was true,  were those sturdy well-known people amenable to level their standards for them?

Did Arlert himself tell him the extensive differences between the Servers standing and those clients who were renting them? Arlert sighed in delight, perceived by the brave Ryuu who looked dead worried about his overall safety. He smiled at the troubled face and pinched his cheek, and it was hard for Ryuu to clear out his mind from anxiety. "I'll be fine. He is serving the public and his family has a reputation to maintain so they can't just make a ruckus about messing around in our Hub, right?" Ryuu made a heavy groan once in despair, and looked at the single bed of Arlert, placed closely in front of him.

    "You trust this Hub too much, you're being sly," he said at the blonde boy without batting an eye. Arlert's eyes widened as he stared at the pretty boy who became his new roommate only a month ago. He was surprised, the guy who was a year younger than him could display a bold manner.

Arlert laughed in mere amusement. Ryuu looked at him with furrowed brows, irritated by how the yellow head reacted. Arlert shook his head no, as he wiped the tears formed in the corner of his eyes - a pure joy. He had not met a genuine candid and kindhearted person in his life, it was the first that touched his hardened heart who had been gone through a lot. Emotions that were dug down deep inside Arlert's heart overflowed that made him burst into painful and happy tears. Ryuu blinked a couple of times, encountered a guy who was older than him, cried suddenly and he was smiling.

    "W-why are you crying?!" he asked in confusion.

The blonde locks embraced Ryuu and with uneven breathing resulting from the heavy cry, he laughed even more. "I'm just happy. C-cause you are too cute..." He sniffed and stood up in front of Ryuu. The black-haired boy could not keep up with the energy of his roommate. He behaved sentimental and outlandish. Ryuu looked at the small index finger of Arlert pointing at him, he looked at the lad. "Promise me that whatever happens, you'll tell me everything you wanna know or you want 'cause I'm older than you and I live here longer than you so treat me like a sempai, okay?"

    "Pft." Ryuu cracked up. Funnily, a sempai's quality he assumed was dissimilar. He looked older than Arlert, and behaved more mature compared to him. On top of it, he was two inches taller. The blonde who was currently pouting, knew that. Even so, the lad's differences and charming personality admired Ryuu. If the young man was forsaken by his family, while addressing the abhorrence of the black haired boy in the Hub, how could he live and stay his vibrant personality?

The blonde locks received a pair of formal attire from the unknown man. A white short sleeve buttoned shirt, with a black long bow tie set a diamond pendant on its brooch collar. The top garment was paired with a black elastic straight pants with pockets in the side seams and an Oxford blue belt which accolades the young boy's slim waist. It even came with a high quality fabric jacket that had a notched collar, button front closing, set-in sleeves with button detail, patch and welt pockets perfectly befit to the boy's physique. Ryuu was mystified by the unknown man, expressing his compassion by sending a decent finery. He was relieved to see his new found companion wearing comfortable and expensive clothes that would temporarily conceal the lad's unimaginable background.

Ryuu threw his back on the bed after Arlert stepped out of the room merrily. His mid bangs touched the bridge of his pointed nose pleasingly, as his deep black eyes watched the wooden ceiling fan move. Since the silence heightened, the small sound coming from it put him to sleep.

Thereafter, as the sound of the wooden ceiling fan slowly faded away, only blackness he could see, till his consciousness receded into his subconscious mind. The sleeping boy breathed in depth, the serenity turned to an unknown suffocation and an indistinct memory appeared in the dark mist. His breathing became unstable as a strong, firm voice of a man echoed in his ears.

    "Use your tongue! If you bite my d*ck, I'll fuck you to the three men outside!"

A pale arm strongly gripped the sheet of a bed, loud creak sounds intensified. The boy flinched in his sleep. His knuckles clutched the fabric and a heavy gasp arch his back, pulling his weight to sit up.

The voice of the young boy was rasped with barely suppressed terror. Hands were shaking, cold sweat ran down his forehead. The lad squeezed his exhausted eyes close and bit his quivering lips. The picture of his pale hand, the sound of the bed creaking in haste and the tightness of his chest appeared to be real, and vivid...