Taxi Dancer

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this world. The idea is mine and I do the research but that's all I contribute.

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Chapter 2

Sasuke stepped out into the cool night air. He took a deep breath to clear his head and mingled in with the scents of the damp packed clay road and the cheap liquor that was life blood to neighborhoods like this was something fresher, something clean.

He nestled deeper into his coat, hunching his shoulders as cold wind blew across the back of his neck, and hurrying down the street away from the little dance hall and towards the hotel.

As he buried his chin in the dark fabric of his lapel the scent came to him stronger. Quicker he pulled his hands from his pockets and brought his lapels closer to his nose. There under the tobacco scent that inundated all of his clothes was that fresh scent again. Lemons.

The scent mixed with the lingering aroma of his own cologne and brought with it a memory, a vision. Blond hair, fierce tip-tilted blue eyes, and a strong body. Even wearing shabby clothes in the dilapidated dance hall the other man had been impressive. Sasuke felt a shiver run down his spine remembering the warmth in those hands.

The little brunette said the man's name was Kitsune. Sasuke mumbled the word to himself, letting the unfamiliar syllables tumble around in his mouth, feeling the way they shaped his lips. He let himself smile. He could get used to that name.

Schooling his face into an expressionless mask as he came upon the threshold of the Cloud Hotel, Sasuke wrapped his reputation around him like a cloak. He knew everyone staying in the hotel, and while he could count more than a few of them as family even if there was no blood between them, he would never turn his back to them.

Shortly after setting up their business Sasuke's brother Itachi had taken over a small hotel and it became the base of their operations. The owners had given up the building with little prompting, though it had taken some persuasion to convince the long term tenants to move out. Now the building held only Sasuke, Itachi, and whatever members of their gang, the Akatsuki, Itachi felt comfortable living with.

"Hey Sasu-chan," Deidara crowed as Sasuke stepped into the lobby.

Whether Sasuke felt comfortable hadn't been taken into consideration.

The most favored of the gang members, at least for the moment, was Deidara, an 'artist.' His medium was clay and oil paints, but his vocation was safe-cracking. Sasuke tried to remind himself that the man was a useful member of the gang, but it was hard.

"Sasu-chan? You're not listening to me." Deidara had gone from whining to nagging and his paint stained fingers were only a few inches from the fabric of Sasuke's coat when Sasuke froze the blond with a glare. Quickly Deidara pulled back, wiping his hands on his smock. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Hands off, I know." Chastened only for a moment, Deidara grinned. "Ita-kun has been looking for you."

Sasuke snorted and turned towards the stairs. There was an elevator, but more than a few of the residents were 'experts' on machinery and nothing mechanical in the hotel could be trusted anymore.

Itachi's office was on the second floor. In fact it was the entire second floor. The outer rooms had been designated as the work areas and Itachi and Sasuke took rooms in the exact center of the building, with no windows opening out into the city. Sasuke thought it was a little paranoid, but he didn't argue with his brother, not on matters of security at least.

As he came to the door of Itachi's office he met Kisame, another of the gang members, a large dark-skinned man. Kisame grinned, exposing pearly white teeth and Sasuke held himself stiff, forcing his body, his instincts, not to respond to the unspoken threat in the other man's smile. Kisame's specialty was death, the bloodier the better. He was Itachi's choice when the time came to make a statement. And as happy as the man looked, he must be on assignment. Sasuke made a mental note not to read the paper over breakfast for the next few days.

Walking past the man and pointedly ignoring Kisame's grinning leer, Sasuke stepped into his brother's office and closed the door behind him.

Moving to one of the wingback chairs in front of Itachi's massive desk, Sasuke settled in with a sigh. "You have to start keeping your pets on a leash, brother."

Itachi's gaze remained where it had been, focused squarely on his green leather ledger in which all of the financial dealings of the Akatsuki gang were recorded.

Sasuke let the silence settle around him as he looked around his brother's office. Trying to start a conversation would do him no good and only annoy Itachi. And an annoyed Itachi was a very dangerous Itachi.

Years with his mercurial brother had acclimated Sasuke to Itachi's every change in mood so when the older man closed his ledger sharply and looked up Sasuke was waiting, alert and attentive.

Sasuke fought the urge to shift under his brother's gaze. There was something measuring about it, as though Itachi was unsure of him. Sasuke tried to look as though he could handle anything he was given to do.

The staring contest ended when Itachi sighed, turning his eyes to look past Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke tried not to turn, to see what his brother was looking at. Itachi often did this to his guests, staring past them in thought.

Sasuke had been through this enough that it was a familiar occurrence, but that did not make it any less maddening.

Without looking back at Sasuke, Itachi spoke. "You did what you were told?"

Sasuke wouldn't honor that with a response.

"What was your progress, little brother? Did you speak with the manager?"

"The manager was not available. I made myself known to the staff. On my next visit--"

"Your next visit? I'm surprised Sasuke. You're usually loathe to return to these places."

Sasuke pictured blue eyes. It would not be a hardship to return to The Tea Dance if it meant confronting Kitsune again. "I understand my duties big brother. I will fulfill my responsibilities."

For a moment Itachi looked suspicious, but his expression cleared as the blank mask Sasuke hated so much fell over his features. "I have decided to turn my attentions away from The Tea Dance for the moment and look elsewhere. There is profit to be made at Manda's."

Sasuke felt his eyes widen and tried not to show his reaction to that name.

"I have spoke with the owner and he is expecting your visit. I want to know more about how the club operates and whether we may be able to establish a toe-hold in the business. That sort of place can offer many opportunities for a young man." Sasuke shivered as Itachi turned the full force of his attention on him. "I expect that you will behave as you have been trained to, with respect and courtesy. I do not want to hear that you have been rude to Orochimaru. He is eccentric and those with eccentricities… must be dealt with carefully."

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what his brother was getting at but he knew better than to let on so he only nodded carefully. "I will make arrangements."

Itachi said nothing, only nodding and Sasuke took that as his dismissal, getting up from his seat and making his way to the door.

Outside in the hall he found Tobi kneeling with his ear pressed to the wall next to the door. The older man made no pretense that he was doing anything other than listening, offering no excuses he only smiled at Sasuke. Tobi was some kind of distant cousin and though he had never done anything blatantly dangerous, like some of the other gang members, Sasuke was sometimes more afraid of him than he was of anyone else simply because the older man had no obvious motives.

It didn't take Sasuke long to learn that the people without obvious motives wee the ones he really needed to worry about.

"Morning Sasuke. Good meeting?"

Sasuke only nodded and moved to walk past. He was stopped when Tobi caught hold of the leg of his pants. Turning back to the other man Sasuke shivered at the coldly flat look in the other man's eyes.

"I would be careful if I were you," Tobi said. "You're just a poor little grey mouse in that place, and Orochimaru is a big, bad snake. You know what snakes do to mice, don't you, Sasuke?" Tobi didn't wait for his answer. "They gobble them up."

Sasuke turned away, pulling his leg fee and walking down the hall as quickly as he could without losing his dignity. Tobi's mad giggles followed him.

When Sasuke got back to his room the sun was rising. This wasn't the first time he'd spent the night at work for his brother. He took his coat off carefully, laying it across the chair in the corner, then tossed the rest of his clothes aside in a more careless manner before finding his way to bed. He tugged back the sheets and laid down on the soft surface, and as he fell into dreams his thoughts were filled with bright blue eyes and the scent of lemons.

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The next night found Sasuke getting ready for his visit to Manda's. Due to the type of club it was he had been encouraged to add some color to his usual all-black ensembles. He resisted as strongly as he could, but at his brother's insistence, encouraged no doubt by Deidara, he wore a dark blue shirt. In the dim light of the club it would be indistinguishable from his black jacket, but it was the thought that counted. Sasuke smirked at his reflection as he adjusted his tie before pulling on his overcoat and heading out of the hotel.

Manda's was across town, in a seedy area. Considering their clientele Sasuke wasn't surprised, but he didn't relish the neighborhood he would have to go through to get there.

There were people on the streets, but they were the kind that didn't want to be seen. For all the difference it made he might as well have been alone. Pushing his hands deeper into his pockets and hunching his shoulders against the early evening chill he caught another breath of lemons, of Kitsune, blended with the musky orange scent of his own cologne. It was a good mix.

Sasuke wasn't much for smiling, but he felt the muscles in his cheeks twitch. Kitsune knew about Manda's, knew what kind of club it was. Part of Sasuke thought it might be nice to see the other man in the club, to be held in those strong arms in the middle of a crowded dance floor.

But as he approached the building he pushed away such frivolous thoughts. He had plans, and responsibilities. There was no room in there for some blond bouncer, no matter how good he smelled, or how blue his eyes were.

Clubs like Manda's didn't advertise. There was no sign hanging on he front of the building. If a passerby didn't know any better they might believe the place was another in a long line of speakeasies, darkened windows looked out on the street and light music drifted into the air.

As Sasuke stepped up to the door a large man moved out of the shadows.

"Password?"

Sasuke said nothing, looking the man over as he opened his coat a bit to expose the butt of his pistol. The guy was nothing more than muscle and if an original thought had ever crossed his heavy brow he showed no sign of it, but his piggy eyes lit up with understanding and a greasy smile broke over his wide face as he stood back, gesturing Sasuke to the door.

"The boss is waiting for you. And he don't like waiting."

Sasuke didn't acknowledge the man, he didn't need to. He stepped into the night club and froze as the door closed behind him.

Before him was a tableau from his darkest dreams. Couples, men with men and women with women, moved slowly in the middle of the dance floor, pressed so tightly together no light could break between them. Off to the side in the shadows there were a few booths and Sasuke thought he could see figures moving in the darkness.

Sasuke had been to Manda's a few times before, but always at his brother's side or with one of the other gang members. This was the first time he had come to the club alone and as he moved across the floor he felt the drag of eyes on him, some of them appreciative, some of them assessing.

Orochimaru held court at a table in the back of the room. A heavy chandelier laid a circle of light over the table and Sasuke took in the man and his guests quickly, forming his opinions and adjusting his proposal to match.

Orochimaru was thin and pale. His gestures were graceful and he had a pettish smile on his face, but there was a core of strength under his posturing and Sasuke fought down the urge to shiver.

Sitting at the man's side was a thin blond boy. Sasuke was reminded of the bouncer at The Tea Dance, but that man was stronger, broad shoulder and tall, this boy was nowhere near Kitsune's stature. He was a pet, if anything.

Standing just behind Orochimaru was another young man. He wore cheaters and his hair was an odd silvery grey which clued Sasuke in to his identity, Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand and occasional fist.

As Sasuke approached the table Kabuto looked at him, but Orochimaru's attention remained on the boy at his side.

Sasuke watched the older man's hand slip beneath the table just as the boy blushed a fierce pink.

"That's my lovely little Kimi," the man said, his voice an oily hiss. "You have such a pretty blush." Orochimaru pouted and the boy's face softened. "My hand is lonely in the dark beneath the table, Kimimaro. Will you go down… there and join it?"

The blond boy, Kimimaro, nodded eagerly, his blush rising as he slipped from his chair and underneath the table which was draped in a purple cloth long enough that it hung to the floor. Once he was out of sight Orochimaru turned the whole of his attention on Sasuke and he smiled.

"Welcome to Manda's, little one. Your brother said you would be by to visit me in my little corner of the world."

Sasuke turned up his nose as Orochimaru offered him the hand that was still above the table. He nodded respectfully and then took a seat opposite from the man, trying to ignore the warmth of Kimimaro on the floor.

"If my brother told you I was coming, then he told you what my business is."

Orochimaru smiled, but it did not reach his narrow eyes. Turning away from Sasuke towards Kabuto the man mumbled something Sasuke could not hear. Kabuto nodded and walked away and Orochimaru turned back to Sasuke.

Sasuke thought he heard damp sucking noises but he forced himself to ignore it. Orochimaru was showing no reaction to whatever Kimimaro might be doing under the table and it was beneath Sasuke's dignity to do any less.

"So you are here to discuss business with me," Orochimaru said "And if I do not care to speak of such serious things? What then?"

Sasuke said nothing. The older man was playing with him and though he had to be respectful he did not have to indulge Orochimaru in his games.

"Ah, you are no fun, Sasuke. You are much too young and lovely to be so serious. Do you see nothing in my home that you desire?" Orochimaru's voice had a gently wheedling tone that Sasuke did not believe.

Kabuto returned carrying a tray. When he set it down on the table Sasuke saw a small pipe with a small bowl and long stem. Beside it was a small box of matches and Sasuke smelled something sickly sweet.

Orochimaru smiled as he picked up the pipe, holding it to his lips as Kabuto pulled a match from the box and struck it against the tabletop.

Orochimaru leaned forward and Kabuto brought the flame to the pipe. A few soft puffs and the pipe caught, releasing the scent of opium over the table.

Sasuke was disgusted. He knew that people had their vices but to display them so openly, first with the boy and now with drugs, was exposing dangerous weaknesses.

Orochimaru's glazed over as he inhaled the sweet smoke. As the other man relaxed Sasuke allowed his attention to wander. He did not see how he would be able to accomplish anything in this place.

Lost in thought Sasuke stared when he felt a hand settle on his thigh. As quick fingers played with the closure of his trousers he pulled back sharply, twitching the tablecloth aside only long enough to see Kimimaro's blushing face before letting it fall again.

Sasuke stood up and stepped back from the table. "Perhaps I will return another night, when you are prepared to discuss business."

Orochimaru stood as well. Handing the pipe to Kabuo he walked around the table to Sasuke. Setting his hand on the younger man's shoulder, Orochimaru leaned in. Sasuke felt the hot pressure of his breath as the man whispered, "I have found my price, little one. I will send a message to your brother. Perhaps we may come to an agreement."

Sasuke pulled back sharply when he felt a damp muscle, Orochimaru's tongue, trace the hard cords of his neck.

"I will inform my brother."

Turning he moved a few steps away and then froze when he met the hard gaze of Kitsune.

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Note: Well there we have it, chapter 2. I have a general outline of this story and there are some interesting things to come, but expect updates at my usual glacial pace. I will post no line before it's time… or something like that.

I'm not going to beg for reviews, but I would love to get some... (*heh)