Walking along the corner of the entrance, I can see a big, sleek black spider, the size of a person hiding beneath a crumpled ceiling.

Doing a quick wave at it, it waves back, before coming out to walk alongside me.

Huh, this reminds me of that waving spider before. I never found that little one after that. There’s no way it could have grown this large, this quickly though.

I think…

Continuing on, I follow my intuition through a series of alleyways that lead to the slum street.

I feel a little wary coming out here, especially after that battle. However, it seems like no group wants to mess with the guy with a giant spider next to him.

As I walked through the alleyways, passing poor demi-humans and humans alike, many of them glanced first at the spider, before glancing at me. For those who kept looking, they seemed to transition to staring at my wrist.

Looking down at it, it is obviously the Yellow Sash bracelet on my arm that they are interested in. From what I can tell, this is the VIP badge of their gang.

By the time I actually reach the street, there are already people looking toward this alleyway watching for me. Of course, I have my intuitive scan and awareness up that allows me to notice this.

I don’t want to draw attention, but I also don’t want to have to deal with others coming to attack me. I hope by having this visible, along with the spider, sends a message to not cause issues for me.

Strangely enough, I don’t see any Vermillion Stripes members around. With my scan, I find that there are quite a few Blue Bands following at a distance. The little I know about them suggests they are mostly an information trader type of gang, with Robin Hood-style leanings.

I can count five of their members following me. One of the five is on top of the nearby buildings, leaping stealthily from one to the other.

There is also one average looking woman following me, without a blue band, but who is paying special attention to me. Based on the glances to one of the blue band members she’s giving, I assume she is with their group.

I might have to deal with this. But how, is the question. Maybe if I just look at them, that will scare them away?

Their bands are hidden, so they might assume I wouldn’t be able to tell they are following me. I’ll give it a shot.

Let me prepare myself, in case this doesn’t go well.

 

I pause for a moment, to retie my shoes. The six people appear to alternate between different actions, from continuing walking, to even checking out a local stand’s wares.

I take a deep breath, making sure I find several spider creatures nearby and ready myself to tame them. I keep in mind my training, for escaping and surviving.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

 

I stand, markedly looking at the one farthest away, on top of one of the buildings.

His eyes meet mine, as he freezes in place.

I then shift my gaze to the next farthest one. And the next, and the next. Some freeze up, while others hurriedly move in the opposite direction. By the time I get to the woman, who appears to be the closest one, she seems to have already seen me pick out all the rest.

As I look straight at her, I can see her back straighten, eyes wide in fear.

She must not have thought I would notice them.

With my strangely good eyesight, I can see that she has basically completely frozen up. As I turn away, to continue walking, my scan reveals that one of the blue band members has grabbed her hand, pulling her in the other direction.

And with that, there is no one else actively following me.

That I can sense, at least.

 

Thus, I continue on.

In the distance, a split off the road appears. With vibrant signage and luxurious cloths adorning the entrance, it is obvious this is the ‘entertainment section.’ Even on the street, there are many yellow sashes hanging by, enticing customers. A constant flow of people heads in and out of this street, with varying expressions of happy, disappointed, or lust filled faces.

 

My intuition doesn’t lead there, though.

Obscured by what looks like giant curtains that somehow blend into the surrounding landscape, there is another road of a similar size, on the other side of the building leading into the entertainment section. While there is some traffic into this section, the only ones going into it appear to be the yellow sashes. As I get closer and closer to this section, I can see the sashes being watched by someone on the other side of the curtain.

Ugh… I’m not sure I want everyone in there to know that I have this special bracelet on. I get the feeling that either nothing good, or everything good will happen if I flaunt it.

I definitely will have to show it to the guard, but I’ll hide it for the rest of the journey.

 

I hide the bracelet within my long-sleeved shirt and have the spider hang back a bit, before continuing.

Reaching the curtain, I stop in front of it.

A few of the women pause, before quickly heading in. After a few seconds, a redheaded woman with her hair in a ponytail comes out. With eyes matching her hair, they are sharp and calculating, rather than rough and fiery.

Simply put, an amazingly tall and attractive older woman.

Hell, she has scars on her scars, with a hint of a muscular tone. And is that a sword on her hip? Definitely don’t want to mess with her. If I had to guess, she must be only half a decade older than me, but clearly have more experience. In everything.

However… WHY CAN’T I KEEP MY EYES OFF HER?!”

She is at least 1/10 a meter taller than me and I’m getting some serious badass lady boss vibes from her, with a ting of Milf’ness. Not only that, but the strong, intellectual look in her eyes draws me in and makes me wants to know more about who she is and what she does.

The strangest part about her is that she is wearing clothes that are reminiscent of a leather sleeveless biker’s jacket. It feels like at any moment, some kid with a mohawk will come around the corner and say, “Boss, I’m here!”.

 

What the hell.

I had no idea I was into this.

Okay, maybe a little. I always had a thing for Ms. Robinson next door with her punk rock look.

 

As I stare at her in shock and I can hear myself unconsciously say,

“Wow…”

 

Ah… fuck. I really have to work on this ‘saying things out loud when I’m shocked’ thing.

The woman’s eyebrows raise up slightly as she gives a chuckle. Her voice soft, but husky, is filled with mirth.

“Huh, it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten that look. Reminds me of when I was young and used to work the strip. I used to play with those guys’ day and night, with them not know up vs down by the end.”

She pulls out a brown strip, placing it in her mouth. My eyes pause on her soft, pinkish lips as her smile grows. Chewing it slowly and touching her finger to her lips, she suddenly snaps her fingers, regaining my attention.

A smile turns into a smirk. As she moves her fingers up to her eyes, pointing at them.

“Eyes up here, mister.”

Yep, definitely found my kink. I don’t think I’m ready to go through this section.

She continues, “Heh. Unfortunately for you, I’m a long way off my working days. If you really want something like that, you’ll have to pay quite a bit extra and wait until I’m off my guard duty.”

She leans against the curtain, which surprisingly holds her weight, as if it was solid.

“I suppose I should ask you why you are standing in front of my ladies’ curtain, though. If you are looking for the ladies that are available for showing, you can head over there.”

She points to the brightly lit street, which is obviously the main section.

“Ah, no. Actually, I was hoping to be able to go through here inste…”

 

As I speak, I reveal the bracelet, hoping it will help me get through this section. Like a VIP badge.

Her eyes widen in surprise as I see her gulp and start to drop to the ground face first. The brown gum like object flies out of her mouth, into the distance.

Ahhh noooo, not again.