Chapter 28 Red-light District (NSFW +18)
Chapter 28 Red-light District
I arrived, catching my breath as the neon lights of downtown washed over me. Even though I’d lived in Shinseika for about four years, I’d never really wandered into this part of town at night. It was past midnight, and the adult world was on full display as men and women drifted down the illuminated streets.
I pulled out my phone. The screen was flooded with missed calls and messages from my parents. I ignored them all. Instead, I checked my wallet again. At least I had cash—even if I had swiped it from Dad when he wasn’t looking.
I guess I really can’t do anything entirely on my own.
I kept walking, scanning the crowds as I navigated toward the hotel. I had taken a different route this time, and the contrast was stark. The further I went, the more women I noticed lingering on the sidewalks, looking as if they were waiting for someone. I paused for a moment, my gaze catching a couple of them standing outside a building. They wore face masks and skimpy minidresses—one even wearing a fur stole—in a display of outright provocation.
Are those street girls?
I quickly shook my head. I wasn’t here looking for whores. Well… I was looking for a specific, traitorous one.
I picked up my pace, hurrying ahead and trying to ignore a sudden, unwanted hard-on. Finally, I arrived. The glowing neon sign read: Fantasy Love Hotel.
This was the place. This was where she had dragged me that day. That bitch had wanted to sleep with me just to pin her pregnancy on me. Just thinking about it made me so angry I could almost spit blood right there on the pavement.
But now that I was actually here, what was I hoping to find?
Do I just stand out here? Wait and hope that she—or someone else I recognize—happens to walk by? Unlike the gym, a place like this doesn't have a receptionist I can just walk up to and interrogate.
Shit. This probably isn't going to give me any real answers.
I checked the time: 2:00 a.m. From the shadows of an alley across the narrow street, I kept my eyes locked on the hotel entrance. I sank down to the ground, my focus unwavering. Then, without a sound, a red-haired girl was standing beside me. Her hair was pulled back in a familiar ponytail as she looked down at me. Weirdly enough, she was exactly the height I remembered.
"Iryoku! Iryoku, come on, let's go play with the boys."
The world shifted. Suddenly, I was back at the neighborhood park under a setting sun. We were sitting beneath our old tree, the entire place bursting with vibrant, nostalgic color. I stood up, dusting the dirt from my clothes, a genuine smile forming as I prepared to follow her. As I moved closer, I realized she was shorter than me now—frozen at the exact same size as the last time I had seen her.
She smiled back. "What are you waiting for? If you win against me this time, I'll do whatever you want." She flashed a bright grin, her effortless beauty mesmerizing me.
She reached out and grabbed my hand to pull me forward.
The moment her skin touched mine, a violent shockwave surged through me. My subconscious snapped its chains. A deep, agonizing pain flared in my chest as the brutal reality of the waking world bled into the dream.
I slapped her hand away. Clarity pierced the illusion. Letting out a guttural roar, I lunged forward, throwing a punch with all my might that sent her crashing into the dirt. Hot tears streamed down my face. Sickening, wet impacts echoed in my ears as I brought my fists down on her again and again.
"Why?! Why?! Why did you do that?!"
But my blows were doing nothing. It was like trying to break steel with my bare knuckles. Alessandra just stared up at me, her expression completely cold, vacant, and serious. I struck her again—thud—directly in the face. Zero reaction.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the red hair vanished. It wasn't her anymore.
It was Alice.
Her small body and chestnut hair lay pinned beneath me on the ground, her clothes disheveled. Another blinding surge of rage consumed me. I threw punch after punch, but this time, my knuckles slammed against a solid, invisible barrier. Not a single strike made contact.
"Die, bitch!" I screamed. I raised both my arms high, clasping my hands together, and brought them down like a massive hammer. They slammed into the unseen wall, stopping dead. "Arghhhh!"
Alice just smirked up at me from the dirt, sticking her tongue out in pure mockery. Moving with agonizing slowness, she reached out, slipped her fingers into my pocket, and pulled out the construction knife.
In a flash, she drove the blade straight into my chest...
My eyes snapped open. "Ah—ah—ah—!" I gasped, my chest heaving violently as I fought to catch my breath in the shadows of the alley.
I looked around frantically, forcing myself to calm down and remember where I was. I checked my phone—3:40 a.m. I had been asleep for a while.
I tried to stand, but my limbs felt heavy and completely numb.
Finally dragging myself to my feet, I looked back across the street just as the hotel doors opened. Someone was walking out.
My eyes went wide. For a split second, I wanted to rush out and kill them right then and there. But I forced my feet to stay planted. Instead, I took out my phone and snapped a picture from the safety of the dark, completely unseen.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I stared at the couple. The man was fat, bald, and unmistakably familiar. It was Mr. Tanaka—the fatso teacher from my school.
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. Clinging to his arm was a very short, impossibly frail girl wearing a face mask. She had black hair, but… could it really be her? The height was a perfect match.
Is this it? Am I actually getting my revenge?
I waited in the dark for them to pass, then stepped out and followed from a safe distance, my hand gripping the knife inside my pocket the entire time.
Eventually, they stopped at a massive establishment down the street. Even from the sidewalk, the deafening clatter of metal balls and blaring electronic music from the pachinko machines spilled out into the night. Fatso left the girl's side.
The girl walked over to a dim corner near the storefront where two other girls were waiting, dressed in similar fashion. A moment later, a hard-faced man approached her. She pulled a bill from her pocket and handed it over. He muttered something under his breath, took the cash, and walked inside the parlor.
I watched the place for a second, keeping my eyes peeled as that fatso disappeared into the store.
Still, I kept my focus locked on the girl, waiting for an opening. Finally, she lifted her mask for a split second to wipe her face before snapping it back into place.
That was all it took. The high-octane adrenaline flooding my system instantly evaporated, leaving behind nothing but a hollow, echoing emptiness. I turned away, letting out a long, heavy breath. Fuuuu.
It wasn't her. Even from afar, I could see it. Her features were completely different. I slumped against the brick wall, suddenly dizzy and feeling like I might pass out.
Coarse laughter echoed down the street as a group of men approached my spot in the alley. Forcing myself upright, I turned and walked away, my mind spinning. What did all this mean? Did Tanaka being at that hotel have anything to do with her?
Well, it looks like the bastard does like them young.
As I passed another dimly lit storefront, a woman’s voice called out to me. "Hey boy, do you want some?"
I turned to look at her, my eyes feeling dead and hollow. She was wearing a black coat and holding a lit cigarette in one hand, her face plastered with heavy makeup. She wasn't exactly ugly, but I wouldn't call her a top beauty, either. Still, she took my attention when she suddenly pulled the front of her coat open, flashing her medium-sized chest in a black lace bra.
That caught me off guard.
"Come on, boy. You seem to need some love. Come on, before I finish my shift." She took another long drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke out into the cold air. The harsh, stale stench of tobacco filled my nostrils.
I just stood there, staring blankly at her. Under the coat, she wore a tight black skirt that reached up to her midsection, hugging her curves and giving her a distinct hourglass shape. For a second, my mind completely drifted.
What am I doing?
"It's cheap. Just 10,000 yen," she purred. Stepping in dangerously close, she hooked her arm tightly through mine, deliberately pressing her chest against my arm. "Come inside with me."
She pulled me into the establishment, which was incredibly small. At the entrance, an older woman stood silently, simply pointing toward a hallway door. I stepped into a cramped room containing nothing but a basic bed.
The woman turned around, her voice entirely transactional now. "First. Pay me 10,000 yen."
I coughed up the cash.
What is the meaning of sex? The thought drifted through my mind like a wandering ghost. Why had I always given it so much importance? Let's just get this over with, if only so I never have to ask myself that question again.
She took the bills, stuffed them into her bag on a small corner table, and immediately began to undress. I stood frozen, tracking her movements from behind. My hands lifted slightly, as if wanting to reach out and undress her myself, but my feet stayed firmly rooted to the floor.
Off came the coat, then the skirt, leaving her in a matching set of black underwear. She turned, slapping a condom into my palm. I stared down at the little plastic square for a beat. By the time I looked back up, she was already stripping off the rest. She unhooked her bra, letting her breasts spill out. The chest that had looked so appealing fully clothed just sagged, her nipples a dark brown. It looked absolutely nothing like the perfectly stylized girls in porn or hentai.
She slid her panties down in a practiced manner, exposing herself completely. But it wasn't a pretty sight. My eyes wandered across her fully naked body, noting the soft layer of fat around her midsection and her entirely unremarkable hips. My erection immediately began to fade.
Sensing the shift, she stepped in close and rubbed the front of my pants. "What's wrong, honey? Nervous?" She grabbed my hand and pressed it against her chest. I mindlessly squeezed her flesh.
So this is how a real naked breast feels, I thought.
Instinctively, I leaned in to kiss her, but she jerked her face away. "No kissing."
I stared at her blankly for a beat before finally stripping off my clothes. She lay back on the mattress, completely indifferent and exposed. My erection was barely holding its ground as I rolled the condom on. When my hand brushed against her pelvis, I looked at the fleshy, heavy, dark folds of her skin, my fingers sliding down to touch her.
"Don't put your fingers inside," she warned, her voice sharpening. "You can only touch the outside."
I froze, staring down at her, feeling myself drift further and further out of my own body. Finally, I just moved into position, awkwardly trying to line things up.
Is this it? Is it right here?
Seeing my hesitation, she reached down and casually guided me inside.
I felt absolutely nothing. The rubber blocked out any warmth, stripping away any physical sensation. Wrapping my fingers tightly around her legs, I just started pumping into her as fast as I could, running on pure mechanical momentum. Whenever I felt my erection starting to slip again, I clenched my jaw, gripped her breast harder, and forced myself to move faster until the blood rushed back. I closed my eyes, not even wanting to be here anymore, all while she let out her entirely fake, practiced moans.
"That's it, baby... ah, ah... faster."
And then it was over. Before I could even fully process what was happening, I was done. It hadn't taken long at all.
I pulled away, staring dully at the spent condom. Before I could say a single word, she was off the bed in a flash, wiping herself down and pulling her clothes back on in one fluid, practiced motion. I stayed exactly where I was, sitting heavily on the mattress and staring at the floor.
Heading for the door, she let out a tired sigh. "Finally. I can go to sleep. Don't take too long in here, we're about to close." She didn't glance back at me once.
I cleaned myself up in the quiet room and threw my clothes back on. Stepping out into the cool night air, my vision immediately blurred. My knees shook, making me stumble as the reality of the last fifteen minutes hit me.
I didn't feel anything. Why does everybody always make such a huge fuss about having sex? About losing your virginity?
But as I kept walking, desperate to get out of the neon-lit district, my face felt suddenly wet. I brought a hand up, my fingers brushing my cheek.
Tears.
That was it. Just like that, I had thrown my virginity away to a complete stranger. And I just ended up feeling utterly, hopelessly empty.