Seduction Game (Art and Soul) Read online

  SEDUCTION GAME

  Candy J. Starr

  Copyright Candy J. Starr 2017

  All rights reserved

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  CHAPTER 1

  As I ran through the streets, the rain pelted down on me. It soaked my clothes and dripped into my eyes, but I couldn’t take shelter. If I didn’t make it to the station in time, I’d miss the last train and be stranded for the night. I needed to get home to my bed, and as far away from this place as possible.

  Masses of people ran beside me, all wanting the same thing, but they just kept me from my goal. They were too slow and too unpredictable. They got in my way and hemmed me in, making my body jar with frustration. I tried to ram my way through them but they were an unrammable block.

  A girl in front of me stopped to check her phone and I barrelled into the back of her.

  “Watch out,” I yelled, pushing her aside.

  I wasn’t going to make it. Damn fancy shoes. If I’d worn sneakers, I’d not have any problems but these high heels made it hard to run. The rain had gotten inside them, making my feet slip around. I had no traction at all. I’d fall over and twist my damn ankle and that would be the final straw. I had to keep running though.

  The rain puddled in the street, splashing my legs as I ran. All around me, the neon lights reflected on the wet surfaces.

  I hated Tokyo.

  I’d arrived a month ago, and every day since I hated it more and more.

  Do a student exchange, they’d said. It’ll be good for your resume. Do a homestay, they’d said. We have a great family, rich and elite. They are offering a homestay in their luxurious home. It’d sounded like a dream but the truth was a nightmare. Everything I did went wrong. The compass in my head that showed right from wrong, smart from stupid and decent guy from jerky dickwad seemed to have gotten all turned around.

  I hadn’t even wanted to come to Tokyo or Japan. I’d just wanted to get away, and this exchange had seemed the perfect opportunity for that. It’d been a last minute thing, all expenses paid by the school, including a special scholarship for poor kids. That was me: poor, and desperate to get away.

  The crush of people stopped at the lights. The most famous intersection in the world, even more packed than usual as all the office workers and drinkers raced for their trains. The only people lingering around were the kids on their way to clubs or people with nowhere better to be.

  I just needed to get across the street and into the station. I could do it. If I got ahead of everyone else, I’d be first through the ticket barrier and I could sprint up the stairs to my train. Platform 8 was the one I needed. Eyes on the prize.

  As we waited, I shuffled through to the front, dodging all the umbrellas at my eye height. I was already significantly taller than most girls here, and in heels, I towered over them. That just made the umbrellas all the more dangerous.

  I made it to the front, the tip of my shoe hitting the kerb. I exhaled and waited for the lights then took off at a run. I’d make that train if it killed me.

  I’d make it. I’d definitely make it.

  Except, just as I got there, the lights went out. I looked up at the monitors and almost screamed. I’d missed the train. The next one was at 5.38am. That was over four hours away. Four hellish hours.

  I stared as though the information would miraculously change. A staff member came and lowered the doors to the entrance. The station was most definitely closed.

  I wanted to kick that door. The city buzzed around me but all I wanted to do was get on a train and be safely back in my bed.

  Now that I’d stopped running, the cold hit me. I had a jacket but I’d left it in the hotel room with doucheface Kenji. No way would I go back and get it. I’d die of hypothermia first. I never wanted to see that jizz rag again.

  I was stuck. Totally stuck. I had to get warm and I had to kill time. I’d much rather kill Kenji, that jerk. He’d gotten me into this mess. Our night of passion had become a night of shit. Even so, a glimmer of relief shot through me. So much better to be stuck in the rain outside the station than alone with him.

  Since I couldn’t get any wetter, I sat down on a bench. People milled around outside the station. Some of them drunk. Some drunk and dead asleep. A few shady characters and some couples. A light drizzle fell now, blurring the lights on the billboards.

  The wet t-shirt clinging to my body got me some creepy stares. Usually, people took one look at my tattoos and backed right off. God, at home a couple of tats wouldn’t even be given a second thought. Here it was like I was an axe murderer. But late night outside the station, that wasn’t even enough to repel the creepers. If anything, it seemed to attract them.

  My hair clung to my face, my makeup must’ve run down my face in black lines. I shivered and tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

  At least three of the men loitering around leered at my tits. I tugged at the neckline of my top, trying to cover myself. I’d dressed for seduction, which I regretted in more ways than one.

  When I’d dressed for the night, I figured it’d be fun. Kenji and I had been out a few times, in a group of other students. Then he’d asked me out for a drink alone. We’d got talking about love hotels. I was totally curious.

  “We could do it,” he said.

  “A love hotel?”

  Even though I wasn’t that hot on him, I wanted to know what it was about. Kenji wasn’t that hard to look at. I mean, I wasn’t madly in love with the guy or anything but he didn’t repulse me.

  Well, he hadn’t repulsed me until tonight.

  Why had I even agreed to go to a love hotel with him? If I raked the murky depths of myself, I had to admit it was loneliness more than a need to have his cock inside me. He’d been one of the few guys I’d met who didn’t treat me like I was a freak. He talked to me, he’d seemed to genuinely like me.

  I’d been so wrong.

  The one thing I’d insisted on was that he didn’t touch me on the back of the neck. I hate being touched there. He’d seemed fine with respecting my wishes until we got to that stupid hotel room.

  Then he’d done it. He’d touched me there.

  I’d screamed and jumped away from him.

  “I told you not to do that.”

  He glared at me.

  “Don’t be so uptight. It was just a touch. I thought foreigner girls were up for anything. Especially ones like you.” He said it with such a sneer.

  I’d grabbed my backpack and ran from the room.

  It wasn’t too much to ask. Why couldn’t he listen to me?

  Girls like me, that’s why. Guys didn’t listen to girls like me. They just took what they wanted.

  The supplies I’d packed still sat, unused, in the bottom of my backpack. I went through them. Change of clothes – that’d be sweet if I could find somewhere to get changed.

  Condoms – they were a useless waste of money. I wondered if there was some couple around me who’d want to buy them off me.

  Snack foods – score. I’d forgotten I’d put them in my bag.

  I fished a chocolate out of the bag. I ripped open the wrapper and took a bite. Ah, chocolate, my faithful friend. I even felt warmer eating it. The sugary goodness gave me energy and make me happy. The horrible reality faded away for a minute. There was just me and the delicious chocolate.


  Once I’d finished eating, I looked around for somewhere to get changed. I counted out my money. I had coins, only coins. Not even big ones like 500 yen coins but shitty little 1 yen coins. All up, I had about three hundred yen. That was like three bucks.

  I weighed up my options. I could head to a family restaurant. That would give me somewhere safe and dry to sit but I’d be lucky to afford even a shitty coffee with that.

  Fuck my life. If I’d not been all insistent on paying my share of dinner and the love hotel, I’d have cash now. But no, I had to prove I was an independent woman. None of this letting the guy pay bullshit. I was a Western woman. Even if Kenji was a million times richer than me. Hell, even old bums were a million times richer than me.

  There was no way I could even walk home in these stupid shoes. Plus, I was a little bit tipsy and my sense of direction was shot to shit at the best of times. But, I had one friend in this whole country. Ingrid.

  She might be out in Shibuya and could loan me some money. She’d not actually had plans for the weekend when I last spoke to her but she might’ve decided to go out, last minute. Since I had nothing else to do, I sent her a text. Even if she had no money, the two of us hanging out together would be so much less shit than being alone. Hell, worst case scenario, she’d give me some sympathy. Sympathy was also good.

  “Fucking fuckery. Stuck in Shibuya. Missed the last train. Kenji = giant douche. I just want my bed.”

  My head spun a little. I’d drunk more than I’d meant to. We’d had wine with dinner and some other drink that had seemed not that strong, but now my head swam. I’d fall asleep on this bench and who knew what would happen then. I could get some nasty coffee to keep me awake. I debated the idea but, before I could reach a conclusion, some creepy guy sat on the bench beside me.

  He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. He had his hand in his coat pocket and I wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t rubbing his cock. I didn’t want to look but my eyes darted to his crotch. Gross, so gross.

  I got up and walked away. I wanted to run but was worried that would attract attention.

  As I walked to the other side of the station, my phone beeped. It’d be Ingrid. She probably couldn’t do anything to help. Hell, it’s not like she could run here and piggyback me home, but I needed to know there was someone out there who gave two fucks about what happened to me and she was the only one in the entire country.

  When I got out my phone though, it wasn’t her. It was Junichi. Big shitty shit head Junichi. I hated that guy. I hated him so much. My crappy, arrogant host brother who thought he was god’s gift to everything. Smart, rich and apparently good-looking, although I couldn’t see that.

  Why was he sending me a message?

  “What stupid mess have you got into? Wait for me and I’ll pick you up.”

  Huh?

  I checked. Stupid me. I’d scrolled too far and sent my message to Junichi instead of Ingrid. Damn my drunken fingers. I’d rather deal with a night of killing time than ask a favour of him. Almost. The rain grew heavier and I wasn’t sure if I could stay awake for another hour, let alone the four or so until the trains started running again. My phone battery was nearly flat and I’d get pneumonia.

  Something scurried by my feet. I jumped. It was a rat. It was a dirty, stinking rat. Everyone raved about what a clean city Tokyo was but here, slap-bang in the centre, a rat had nearly attacked me. If there was one running around, he’d have friends. Nasty, ratty, face-biting friends. If I fell asleep and the old perverts didn’t get me, the rats would. Or racoon dogs. I had no idea what racoon dogs were but they sounded like something that would attack you in your sleep.

  I guess some things in this world were worse than Junichi. My pride had been washed away in the rain.

  Junichi sent me a detailed map of where he’d meet me. If I didn’t get there on time, he’d give me hell. Junichi hated people being late. He hated people not following the stupid rules of this country that no one even understood and he hated people with tattoos and bright-coloured hair. That was me in a nutshell. To say we didn’t get on was the most massive understatement.

  The map he’d sent didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I turned my phone around and tried to find a familiar landmark, like the station. The massive, biggest-in-the-world station I stood beside. You think that would be on the map. He was testing me or something. I enlarged the map then shrunk it again. Where the hell was that station on his map? I was about to text him back but my phone was so close to flat.

  Finally, I worked it out. If I turned my phone upside down, it made sense.

  I ran to the spot, not wanting to be late. The rain kept pelting down. I thought I couldn’t get any wetter but I’d been wrong. I was exactly in the spot he’d said and I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t see much actually. In the rain, it was just a blur of lights. All the cars looked the same.

  A car pulled over the kerb. The headlights, brighter than any other car on the road, blinded me. It was him.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Get in the car,” he yelled.

  From the way he looked at me, I think he was afraid that someone would recognise him, and he was embarrassed to be seen with me.

  I knew that already, though. One of the first things he’d said to me when I’d arrived here was to never speak to him on campus. He’d given me a sweeping glance that made it clear he’d be totally mortified.

  “Sure thing, Sunshine,” I’d replied. “I have no intention of hanging out with the losers.”

  Then we were in that stupid haiku class together and the tutor had announced to the entire class that I was living with Junichi’s family.

  I think in the last few weeks, those four words “get in the car” were the most he’d willingly spoken to me. Well, he’d told me a few times not to call him Sunshine and once he’d asked me to pass him something at the dinner table but otherwise we’d given each other a wide berth after establishing we hated each other.

  “Try not to drip water anywhere,” he said with an eye roll.

  “Yeah, because I got saturated on purpose to annoy you.”

  Junichi put on some music. Some classical shit. I had no idea what it was. I bet he didn’t even like it but thought that was the kind of music he should listen to. He was like that.

  My whole host family was screwed up.

  Well, that was unfair. The little brother, Shun, was a cool kid. Only, I found out once I arrived that they pretty much had me there as a free babysitter for him. Ha, Shun was nine years old and one of my jobs was to take him to cram school every day. Except that I thought cram school was a steaming pile of bullshit. The poor kid didn’t need to sit in some horrible room being fed facts like a battery hen. Instead, every night, we went straight home and played Xbox or watched TV. That was so much healthier, in my opinion.

  If one good thing came out of this year, it’d be that I could prevent that kid from getting as screwed up as the rest of his family. He definitely wasn’t as brainwashed.

  The other kid in the family, well not so much a kid since she was in her final year of high school, was the middle sister, Yumi. She was two years younger than me and kept pretty much to herself. I felt sorry for her because, before I arrived, I think she’d been stuck with all the household chores on account of her being a girl and all. Now they had me as their slave girl and she was off the hook. I’d pretty much only saw her at meals. She did all this shit like ikebana classes. I knew that had something to do with flowers but it seemed to me like you didn’t need lessons to stick flowers in a vase. Any fool could do that.

  I couldn’t work out if she didn’t like me or she was just shy.

  The parents were the worst. The night I arrived, Mr Tachibana told me to call him Daddy. What the fuck? He meant in the creepiest possible way too. Mrs Tachibana just stood by and smiled. She was like this hollow person, all immaculate grooming and smiles on the outside but you had no idea what was going on inside her. I was pretty sure there was nothing.

/>   A few days after I arrived, they asked to speak to me.

  “If anyone comes to the house, you must wear long sleeves,” they’d told me. “You need to cover up completely.”

  “Huh?” I had no idea what they were talking about.

  They both glanced at my body.

  “You have to understand that things are different in this country. We don’t have the freedoms you do.”

  Then it clicked. My tatts embarrassed them. They didn’t want their friends to know they had an exchange student who looked like a punk. It wasn’t like I wanted to talk to their friends or hang out with them anyway. I couldn’t exactly see myself sitting down to cocktails with a bunch of Tachibana clones. Since they’d said that, no one had ever come to the house. Either they had no friends or didn’t believe I’d actually cover up.

  “Also, your makeup…”

  I looked at Mrs Tachibana’s beige blandness. I wasn’t like I was going to start taking makeup and fashion tips from her. I had my own style and I’d never kill that just to make them happy. If they wanted me to be all conservative around the house, I’d do it to make them happy but, when I walked out the door, I’d do things my way.

  Luckily, both of them worked such long hours that I rarely saw them.

  Junichi was the eldest. That apparently was a big deal. Oldest son meant he could sit around on his fat butt and do nothing. Only his butt wasn’t fat. It was actually quite a nice butt. In a country of flat butts, it was outstanding.

  Still, he did nothing. I resented that. It wasn’t even like he had to focus on his studies because the main thing he did was club activities. That was all anyone did, club activities. It didn’t matter what marks you got or if you studied, so long as you went to some stupid club. I could never do that. Even if my marks here didn’t count for anything but a pass or fail back home, I had to be best. I had to be top of the class. I had a lot to prove.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “How fucked up this country is.”

  “Well, you could always go home.” He yawned.