A/N: Beta-ed thank you Sakagami Hina, without you this story stuck with the bad grammar TvT

Chapter 1: The Girl

In the middle of the sleepless night she shifted herself on the couch, giving the man beside her some space to feel a little more comfortable. She smiled as the man's hand encircled her shoulder with a perfect cocky grin on his face as if he'd already won a great prize from the lottery.

"Say, can you go out after your work is over?" he said slyly

"Hmm? Why are you asking?" She asked him back with her sly smile.

"I've got a new car, I want you to be the first lady to ride in it," he answered.

She scoffed inwardly at that statement. "And…?"

"Maybe we can have some fun?" he suggested. The man's perfume was starting to annoy her senses.

"Is that all you've got? I'm not that cheap, you know…"

"Of course everything is yours… if… you become mine…" He lowered his voice, as his lips coming closer to hers closed the gap between them.

"All right, the game is over, mister, now you can pay me." She pushed that man aside.

"But didn't you promise me to go out and have some fun?" he complained.

"If I remember correctly, I haven't promised you anything, mister, and I consider kissing me while I'm on duty as an extra service, so you must pay me more."

The man fidgeted in anger, while Luka's friends looked worried. They were afraid that the man would burst with anger and throw a tantrum at their work place.

"All right, then, I understand." The man stood and straightened his coat. "You – who makes money from this kind of business – acts like a saint? You're no different like those who make money from prostitution!"

She gave him a mocking smile. "That's so kind of you… telling me that I'm no different from a slut… well yes, I do admit it… I have a lot of men to satisfy." She took the bottle of brandy in her hand and walked towards that man while maintaining her luring smile. He took a couple steps back. "…that's why I don't need another idiot to make my headache even worse!" She poured the brandy onto his head with a cold expression on her face.

"LUKA!"

In came Mama-san, the owner of the place where she worked. She must've come after one of her coworkers reported her actions towards the guest. She watched, uninterested, as Mama-san asked to apologize to that jerk. That man seemed softened by her pleas, and Mama-san pointed to one of the girls who could accompany him.

"Come to my office," said Mama-san, or Meiko, as she was known before she became the owner of one of the most elite host clubs in Tokyo.

Luka complied and walked behind the short-haired woman. Some of her coworkers were whispering something she couldn't care less about. As the door closed the whispering perished.

"I don't know what you want," Meiko sighed, throwing herself onto the couch near the door.

Luka handed her a can of beer and she opened her own without waiting for the desperate Mama-san. Meiko watched her, then joined her in swallowing the cold beer.

"He was acting like an ass," Luka blurted.

"But still, you can't pour brandy on a guest like that, he's drenched.

Luka scoffed. Both she and Meiko were the same not-so-sweet girl. They'd known each other since back when they were in High School. They first met when Luka accidently caught Meiko smoking in the school's backyard, while Meiko knew Luka's true color behind her innocent smile. After they graduated from High School, they went their separate ways. Meiko became a part-time bartender at a famous club, while Luka continued studying at universities and working part-time as a café singer at night.

They meet again one year ago, when one of Meiko's customers – she'd already owned the host club – asked her to dine at the café where Luka worked. When Luka sang in front of her, she just knew that Luka would be her treasure, and she was right; in one year, the café diva managed to climb to the number one position in Meiko's place.

"You know the consequences of working in the place like this; getting harassed by the customer like that is sure to happen," Meiko said.

"Yeah, I know… but then, I already have plenty of dumb guys to toy with, it's not like I need another one." She gulped another sip.

Meiko scoffed. "Well, surely you have plenty of dudes to rely on economically, since my payment never satisfies you…" She brought the cigarette to her lips.

Luka laughed. "As much as I enjoy this job and the men I can fool, I also love your payment." She lit the cigarette on her friend's lips.

"All right, just don't do it again. We'll lose our customers if you keep that attitude of yours."

"Thank you, Mei-chan… now can I go home?"

"Yeah, it's almost morning anyways."

After she bid her friend goodbye, she decided to stroll around with the car that one of her lovers had bought her. The car left a red line as she sped up to clear her mind.

Lover – one would describe it as soul mate. But not for her; lover in her dictionary was a fool unlucky enough to be tied with her with their complicated feelings, while she will use their love to satisfy her needs: sex, money and all the good things in life. Yes… she treated them all the same: something she can throw to the bin after it broke or she got bored and she just didn't care. She was free to fly or stay wherever she wanted, even though it broke many hearts.

She turned her radio volume to its max; another crappy night. She even ignored a phone call from one of her lovers. She just wanted to be alone tonight and they should've known that she'd only come when she needed something.

Just when she began to enjoy her "me time," an unwary biker appeared in front of her, making her drift to prevent crashing. Thankfully the road was empty. She steadied her breath before opening the car door to scold the dummy who'd appeared in front of her.

"YOU, STUPID!" she yelled.

The guy who'd fallen from his bike slowly opened his eyes and immediately checked his own damage: he had some bruises and scratches, but still he let out a thankful sigh and tried to stand.

His face turned to the yelling woman and he smiled like an idiot, saying, "Ah~ good night, miss."

"Are you stupid or what? Why'd you suddenly appear when I wanted to cross?" she said angrily.

"You see... it was a green light on my side, so I thought it was okay to cross."

Luka turned her head to see the still-green traffic light, and an embarrassed tint sparked up on her face. She was the one at fault.

"Okay… I'm sorry, I didn't see the light…" she admitted reluctantly.

"Hmm, I'm okay, but," he looked at his belongings which were scattered here and there; they were groceries.

Luka sighed. "I'm gonna pay for it… how much?"

"Umm… no, it's not that much, but…" She heard a stomach growl and she laughed at his awkward attempt to cover his stomach.

"So, it was your dinner, then?" she guessed. He nodded, and she smiled. "I'm gonna treat you as an apology… tell me what you want to eat. Although I 'm afraid it's only oden or ramen that I can suggest; it's almost morning and there's only a few stalls open."

"Really? Oden is good, too!" He sounded like a little boy who gets excited over candy.

"Okay, I have some rope here, tie your bike to my car… I'm gonna drive you to the stall I like best."

As he sat beside her, she noticed that this guy's appearance was a little bit feminine. He had shoulder-length purple hair and a rather pretty face. Good, I'm with a gay, I'm safe, she thought.

"What a nice car you have," he complimented.

"Thank you, my boyfriend bought it for me…"

"Ah~ how lucky… all I have is my bike…" he said with his dumb cheery tone.

"Oh, so…" Silence.

"Ah, I might sound rude to ask, but why is a woman like you still wandering at night? Do you have a late-night job?" He tilted his head.

"Kinda… now we're here, just order whatever you like."

They sat side by side at the oden stall. An old man served them with hot tea, very suited for the cold night. That guy ate the oden blissfully and Luka just ate a little; however, she'd eaten a lot when she was at the club.

"Ah~ how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself…" he said sheepishly

"No… it's okay." As if she cared anyways; they wouldn't meet again after she paid for the oden.

"My name is Gakupo, Kamui Gakupo…nice to meet you." He smiled so brightly as he extended his hand that Luka was blinded by his innocent smile. He came from a different world than her.

"What a ridiculous name. My name's Luka, Megurine Luka." She didn't know why, but that night she accepted the purple-haired man's hand.

"Luka-chan, eh…" He munched another tofu.

"When did I give you permission to call me by my given name? And what's with that –chan?"

"Eeh… I thought it would fit you best." He pouted.

"Grrh… do as you please!" she snapped.

They walked out of the stall after she paid for what he ate. The purple haired man put his bike back on the ground and beamed another bright smile.

"See you next time, Luka-chan!"

"Uh… sure…"

He waved her goodbye and she was left alone. Why had being with that guy – whose name she'd already forgotten – made her tired, if only for a moment? She was dragged along at his pace with his bright smile.

"Tch! Like I want to see you again!" she muttered to herself.

She thought today was enough; she didn't want to meet such bad luck like her previous encounter with that purple-haired man. All she wanted now was to get back to her bed inside her hollow apartment.

She turned on the lamp when she arrived at the place she called "home" and landed her tired body onto the heavenly softness of the bed. "Tomorrow…will be better…" she whispered to herself.

Or not…

When Mama-san called her and some of her top-of-the-list friends to accompany and entertain some of her guests, she was just stunned when she saw a purple head sitting between a few other guys with blurry faces. He smiled awkwardly in the middle of his friends.

"OH, SHIT…" She wanted to run behind the curtain, but Meiko's hands stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Number One?"

"B-B-But…"

Meiko looked at her suspiciously. "Is there someone you know sitting there?"

"Not that I know him, but… he made me tired…"

"Tired? Did you have intercourse with him and he made you lose your composure and decide to avoid him?" Meiko smirked.

Luka cursed Meiko's gutter mind, but it couldn't be helped since she had said something that was easily misunderstood. However, that guy over there is gay anyways, it made her wonder: what he was doing in this girl's host club?

"No! That's not it, he…" Before she finished her sentence, she heard a voice calling her.

"Ah~ is that Luka-chan? Luka-chaaan~" He waved at her. She put an expression of doom on her face, making Meiko giggle uncontrollably.

"Damn it…" She dragged her feet over to him and his friends.

"Good luck, Luka-chan~" said Meiko, mocking her.

~To be continued~