Practice Time

Lyra paced around the small room labeled "Practice room B" on the door. She really didn't need the practice time, she had done this show countless times, but it was something to do and to keep her mind busy. She was wearing her normal practice wear of a loose t-shirt, shorts, no shoes and her hair tied back.

Wringing out her hands, she stopped in front of the wall of mirrors. Lyra stretched her arms out again before getting ready to run through her routine one more time.

Zhuyin was browsing the entertainment level.  He often did this, he enjoyed the performers a lot.  Specifically, the female performers.  

He loved their routines and their outfits, especially the more revealing ones.  

He spotted Lyra entering one of the practice rooms, and his interest was spiked. He'd always thought Lyra was a very beautiful woman.  She had a cute, innocent looking face, and some of the sexiest hips he'd ever seen.  

Quietly he made his way over to the practice room and entered, closing the door behind him.  He saw her stretching, and he raised his brow as he smiled.  The man folded his arms and watched her, his eyes drawn to the curve of her body.

A few intricate flips and moves later Lyra ended her routine in a spilt. Breathing heavily, she thought through her routine and quietly cursed the few parts where she had fumbled. Sighing, she took advantage of the split she was already in and leaned forward to stretch her back.
Seeing Zhuyin out of the corner or her eye Lyra gasped and shot up back into a standing position.
Lyra managed to sputter out a "H-Hello sir" Before her heart came back from the races. "Can I help you with something?"
She had seen the man before lounging in the theater or strolling down the entertainment level boarding rooms but she had never talked to him before. She didn't like the look that he had. It reminded her of a snake that found a weak, broken mouse who couldn't run away.

Zhuyin was very impressed by her routine, but he expected nothing less from Lyra. She had moved up the ranks to the moderate job levels because she was talented.

He got a bit of a rush watching her move like that, she was very captivating. He wondered how it would look if she did that routine with even less clothing, and he liked that thought a lot.

When she saw him and gasped out, he chuckled softly.

"I was just watching you practice." He said, clapping his hands a few times. "You're very talented. Lyra, right?" He asked, wanting to make sure he had her name correct. The hole in her middle and her performance career made it so many people in the bathhouse knew who she was.

Lyra quickly snatched up her towel to dry her face before responding with, "Thank you very much, sir! And yes sir, I'm Lyra Bitar. You are..." She racked her brain for the name that escaped her, "Zhong? One of the managers, yes?"

She stood nervously by the mirrors gripping the small towel discreetly as to not show her jitters. No manager had every come down to watch her during practice and she wasn't sure if him being there was a good or bad sign. But she did know that she did not want to say something stupid to him.

Zhuyin's lip twitched slightly at how she was unsure of his name. He was one of the most important person in the entire bathhouse, everyone should no his name! He quickly gained composure again, reminded himself that she was, in fact, a mere female.

He let out a soft laugh and the faintest trace of smoke escaped his lips with it.

"Silly girl, everyone knows who I am. I'm the Administrative Manager. Did you bump your head during a practice routine?" He asked, his voice a bit too sweet, as if he was speaking to a child. As he spoke he moved in a little closer to Lyra.

Lyra gapped, afraid she had offended the important man, "I'm sorry, sir, I guess I wasn't thinking..."

Lyra didn't notice his slow approach so she didn't move and instead stood in front of the mirrors feeling very small in front of him.

Lyra looked pretty vulnerable to Zhuyin. He liked it. He enjoyed instilling a sense of fear into people and using his position to feel powerful over them. Especially cute ones like Lyra. He wondered how much he could get away with in this Practice Room.

"Do you perform soon?" He asked her, placing his hand on his sheathed sword.

Lyra shuffled backwards, finally noticing his advancement. Glancing at the clock in the corner she did the math in her head before saying, "Not too soon, I go up for makeup and dressing in an hour or so." She remembered that she was trying to make a good impression and sputtered to a start again with, "Did you need help with something?"

A whole hour. That was plenty of time to fool around. Zhuyin's smile grew.

"Maybe we could help each other." He said, his voice sly. "I could get you a very nice raise if you can show me how well you please your audience. Which right now happens to be just me." He chuckled softly at his own horrible sense of humor.

Once he had Lyra backed up against the wall of mirrors, he placed his hand up to rest it beside her head, boxing her in and establishing a sense of dominance.

"Well Miss Lyra? Can you put on a private show?" He asked in a low, soft voice, his face close to hers.

Suddenly what he was saying hit her like a ton of bricks. With his hand by her head she couldn't get out. She pushed her head as far back as it could onto the mirrors.

"I-I-I" She stuttered her brain reeling, "I'm so sorry, sir, I-I'm not apart of the night shift we aren't allowed to do that..."

Her eyes were the size of saucers as she cursed herself for not locking the door like she usually did. She thought Jun was coming to visit her but instead she got this man. She begged her brain to let her move, to get out from between Zhuyin and the wall. Instead she stood frozen like a deer in the headlights.

Zhuyin chuckled.

"Lyra I'm the Administrative Manager. If I say you can, then you can. And if I say that you will be rewarded, you will be rewarded handsomely. I don't like the girls on the night shift. They're all whores anyway."

He placed his thumb under her chin, to tilt her head up.

"I like talented young women such as yourself. I promise I'll show you a good time, if you accept. But let me warn you, I don't take rejection well." He hissed, his eyes flickering with something evil behind them.

Gapping at him, she tried to think of what to say. Lyra felt the cold of the mirror on her legs and the cold mixed with fear sent goose bumps across her body. With no where to run and no idea what to say, she could feel frustrated tears welling up inside her.

On one hand she loved her job and did not want to loose what she had. She had worked long and hard to get where she was. On the other hand was-
Lyra shook her head and said, "Sir! Please d-don't!"

She was so scared, Zhuyin wondered if she was a virgin.  And those tears, was that really necessary?  Whatever, Zhuyin had seen them cry before, it didn't effect him.

He gripped her face in his hand, being a bit more rough, and placed his other hand on her hip forcefully.    

"Perhaps you didn't hear me.  I said I don't take rejection well." He sneered through clenched teeth, rubbing his thumb against the skin on her hip.

Lyra sucked in a breath with his roughness. Her brain kicking into action, she pressed both hands onto his chest in an attempt to push him away. Lyra jerked her head away from his.

Swallowing her fear she said weakly, "Sir, I-I'm not that kind of performer" Turning her head back to look him in the eyes with a scared twinkle in her eyes, "I-I'm sorry, you're j-just going to have to find a different girl"

Unlike the night before, Jun was not wearing his work uniform, but instead wearing his casual clothes. An open vest, and a lose fitting tank top around it. He wore his nicest pair of pants and had his hair done. He went to the bar and poured himself a drink even though he's off duty. He sat down at one of the tables in the room and took big gulps of his drink, excited to go meet Lyra.
It was then that Yori walked out of the kitchen, looking bored until he spotted Jun.

“Hey Jun!” He said happily, walking over to him.

Jun glanced up and saw the energetic person that was Yori walking over to him. He smiled and nodded his head. “Hey”

Yori noticed how Jun was all dressed up. “Nice clothes, are you heading out or something?” He asked with an innocent expression. Jun’s eyes hooded and his smile grew.

“Thanks, I’m going to the entertainment level. Gonna meet someone there.” He said, looking so proud of himself and feeling like such a stud.

“Ah, mind if I come?” Yori asked. “I’m looking for Lyra, so I figure she might be up there.” Jun’s smile faded a little at the other young man’s words.

“Why are you looking for Lyra?” He asked, sounding suspicious.

“Aha, it's nothing really. Are you leaving for the entertainment level soon?” Yori responded.
“Yeah... ironically the person I'm meeting up with is Lyra too.” Jun explained, sounding less then pleased at the coincidence.
“Ahaa really? Great, let's go then!--- If you're ready” Yori said excitedly.

Jun sighed out and then quickly swigged the rest of his drink, standing up and rubbing off his hands on his vest” Yea sure.” He grumbled, and started to head to the entertainment level. “ She didn't ask to see you... did she?” He wondered aloud.
Yori followed Jun. “Eh, not exactly, but she did say she was gonna teach me some stuff.”

“Well at least she only asked for me.” Jun thought, then turned to look at Yori. “Yeah? Like what stuff?” He raised his brow.

“Ahaa, not too sure myself. Something to do with my energy, she said.” Yori explained lightheartedly. Jun’s eye twitched. Before he could respond, Yori pointed to Practice Room B. “Ahh, I think that’s her practice room.” He said happily.

Meanwhile, inside the room, smoke trailed from Zhuyin's nose. He pressed his body against Lyra's. "I'm in charge around here, you're whatever kind of girl I say you are." He stated darkly. His eyes widened though as he heard the door to the practice room click.

Acting fast he let go of Lyra and stood back a few feet before the door opened, causing it so Jun and Yori wouldn't have any idea what just happened.

Jun was shocked to see another man in there with Lyra, especially when he realized that that man was the Administrative Manager.

"Oh, are we interrupting something?" Jun asked, bowing to Zhuyin in respect for his superior.

Zhuyin glanced over at Lyra with a warning expression. She better not tell anyone, or else.

Yori walked in behind Jun and waved as soon as he saw his friend. "Hey Lyra!" he waved enthusiastically.

He saw Jun bow to a man in the room with Lyra. He tilted his head slightly, in confusion, and simply stared at the man. "Hi, I'm Yori! Who are you?" he asked. The man seemed somewhat familiar, but Yori asked for his name just to be sure.

Lyra sent thanks to any and all gods that decided to smile upon her at the moment Zhuyin stepped away. Seeing his warning expression, she quickly shut her mouth. She waved weakly at Yori but couldn't wipe the completely freaked-the-fak-out expression off her face. She pushed the tears back down and conjured up a meek smile-grimace-hybrid.

Not trusting herself to say anything, she simply stood against the mirrors with her hands, clutched together, pressed against her chest.

Good, the girl was keeping her mouth shut. Zhuyin's eyes flickered over to the two newcomers. He nodded to the one that bowed and glared at the one who didn't know who he was. EVERYONE WAS SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO HE WAS!!!
"How can you not know who I am? I am Administrative Manager Zhuyin Zhong! Bow to your superior!" He demanded of Yori, who he mistakenly thought was a dumb female.
Jun noticed how uncomfortable Lyra looked, and he wanted to rush over to her to make sure she was okay. But he kept bowing, he could sense that Zhuyin was pissed.

His face got a bit red from embarrassment. "A-ah, my apologies!" he chuckled nervously, but he quickly bowed before Zhuyin, although he straightened up as quickly as he bowed.

He was still pretty excited to see Lyra's performances, and also a bit eager to learn some. Although, as soon as he saw Lyra's face directly, he noticed a flare of fear in her eyes. "Ah, Lyra, you okay?" he asked, a bit worried. He began to walk over to her. "Did you see a cockroach in the room or something," he joked, in an attempt to cheer her up.

Lyra's eyes widened at his blatant disregard for the rage that was radiating off of Zhuyin. She quickly shook her head, knowing that if she tried to say something she would break down. Her eyes flicked back up to the back of Zhuyin's head to see if he was about to transfer his anger back onto her.

Zhuyin glared at Yori. "You better watch yourself." He warned the waiter. He was annoyed at the present company. He decided to leave, but as he got to the door he turned back to face Lyra.
"Consider my offer." He stated in a warm tone, before leaving the room.

Jun stood up straight and walked over to them, whacking Yori on the back of the head.

"You dummy, if you don't show more respect around that guy he can get you fired." He said, and then turned to look at Lyra.

"What happened? You look scared to death." He said, his demeanor completely changing to concern and worry.

He flinched and rubbed the back of his head after he got hit by Jun. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I was just worried about Lyra." He pouted slightly, but followed Jun to where Lyra was.

Lyra watched her nightmare stalk out of the room. When she heard the door click shut her brain released the fear and frustration it had been holding. She stood there for a moment, trembling and staring at the door. It was then that she broke down into tears, slid down the mirror, and hid her face in her knees, holding her legs.

A mantra of "this is why we don't talk to people, this is why we don't talk to people, this is why we don't talk to people" rang in her head as she shook. Lyra could feel her tears sliding off of her knees and dripping onto the floor.

She knew she was making a scene but at that moment she didn't care. She was too bent out of shape to pay attention to the two boys that were standing above her.

Jun looked at Yori in shock when Lyra broke down, not sure what to do. He quickly knelt down beside the young woman and hesitantly reached his hand out to rest it on her shoulder.

"Lyra what happened?" He asked, so incredibly worried for her.