Cardfight!! Vanguard: R

Episode Four: Wish You Were Here / Chapter 15

15 – The Underground

Saidan is separated into many districts; residential, shopping, entertainment and many more. All of which boast a reputable source of income. However, there is no city in the world that is without its businesses that fill the carnal needs of men, the frivolousness of a gambler or the lonely heart of a woman.

The Red-light District, while not providing the most legal of services still contributed in some way to the Saidan experience. Pop up casinos, underground martial arts fights, and ladies of the night looming around dimly lit buildings and bars coaxing the young men who've wondered too far from a work drinking party. The echoes of electro dance music poured out as some young students fell through the door into a puddle of water in the street.

Though it was just one street in the entirety of the city, it felt like almost everyone was here tonight.

Taichi leaned against the wall of a bar across the street. He had pushed his hair all the way back using brylcreem and bought some new clothes on the way home to make him look older. A branded t shirt and tighter fitting jeans and a pair of shined black shoes. He pulled up the collar of his tan borg jacket; his cheeks were turning red as it got colder and colder. Tapping his foot his impatience growing more and more, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"You clean up pretty good huh, Tai-chin?" Yume said. "Not too sure if the hairstyle is popular but it looks good!"

"Shut up, Tokiomi said it was all the rage when he was younger..." as Taichi eyes trailed off as did his eyes.

"Come here. It would look better if you did this..." she pulled him down by the collar of his jacket and went to work styling his hair to something more popular in this decade. While undergoing his sudden makeover, Taichi's eyes began to wonder.

Yume tended to dress a bit looser than most students. Taichi had only ever seen this in her uniform though, with its shorter skirt, the addition of a pink trim in the seam of her blazer. But out of school, she could let her Gyaru style on full show.

Her hair was more styled than it usually was, tied up at the back it was more frayed out, and the pink highlights were more defined than they normally were. She wore a bit more makeup than Rui let her get away with at school, heavy around her eyes and mouth – Taichi noticed her lips looked bigger than normal. A white top with a rainbow style pattern spread across it horizontally, White knee-high boots with the shape of a lotus cut out in the outer sides. A pair of fitted denim shorts that barley left anything to the imagination. He made a note to keep looking up if he was to end up walking behind her.

She noticed his cheeks flush a little more and took the opportunity to tease him.

"What's this? Don't tell me, is Tai-chin so super shocked to see me out of my uniform that he's starting to fall in love with me?! Is that's what happening?"

"Shut up" he said sharply and turned back to face the Red-light District. Giving Yume a moment to stop laughing, they journeyed ahead into the land where only few come back alive, "The place we're looking for shouldn't be too far, I think I recognise that clothes shop over there."

"That's not a clothes shop, Tai-chin."

"Then what is it?" he gestured to the mannequins dressed in lingerie and tight leather clothing, "they got clothes, albeit a bit strange." Yume glanced around her before leaning up and whispering into his ear. He stood still for a moment, looked back to the shop they walked past and looked at Yume. "Oh... we shouldn't stay here for too long, to be honest I don't know why we couldn't talk to her about this at school."

"Its elementary my dear Tai-chin" Yume tipped the bill of an imaginary deerstalker hat, "If we catch her in the act, then there's no way she can deny it ever happening."