Turquoise and Azure: a match made in hell. (original) (raw)

Chigusa's shoulders twitched at the touch of the fabric, but she instinctively pulled it around her anyway; her body's chill overrrode her fight or flight instinct for the moment at hand. She gazed at the stranger who had draped his jacket around her, and fingered the material; it was soft but sturdy, and felt at least moderately expensive.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, but as seems to occur at the worst possible moments, she realized the answer as soon as the question had escaped her lips. Everyone seemed to know her in this city; at least, those who mucked about the Club did. And now that she thought about it, she thought she remembered seeing his distinctive hair, like an ocean's wave, among the faceless patrons once or twice. Maybe it was confabulation, but she thought not.

"You must frequent Club Ohtori, to know who I am. I think I remember seeing you there, but I don't have any idea as to what your name is. You must not know me too well, though, or you wouldn't presume me to be a damsel in distress. I had a run-in with a sprinkler malfunction. That was probably Kiryuu-san's fault...it always seems to be his fault when those damn things go off." Chigusa hadn't seen Touga all too often; he kept to himself much of the time, but she had heard Miki and Jury discussing his 'activities' more than once.

"In any case, thank you for the use of your coat. I'm sure you're not the only man--or woman, for that matter--to see me wet and appreciate it. I'm also sure you're one of the only men who has gotten away with touching me while I'm still technically on my shift...Arisugawa-san doesn't like men touching 'her girls.'" She laughed at this and took another sip of her drink. "I'm also sure she won't like the fact that I walked out before my final number, but there's plenty of people to fill my slot. She'll get over it. Enough about those people and their feelings..." she smoothed a water-limped curl back over her shoulder and gazed shrewdly at her sudden companion, her voice sharp but not unkind, with a lilt of humor. "Tell me about yourself, O Wandering Prince."