“This is a hell of a place.” Devin remarks, intently scanning the ornate interior of the club. “I forgot how big it was. It's a lot roomier than Mystik, but despite that, there's less tables and a smaller roster of girls. Guess that explains why it's more expensive, though.”

“Crown and Mystik both have their own good mix of quantity and quality.” Atreus begins to succinctly compare and contrast between the two more popular clubs in the district. “But Mystik leans slightly more towards quantity, and is less expensive because of it; whereas Crown leans slightly more towards quality, and is more expensive because of it. They have their ups and downs.”

“I can imagine Crown has a higher rate of regulars. They probably make most of their money from people who come here every week, or even damn near every day. Mystik makes its money on a large pool of people who visit less frequently.” Devin aptly displays his in-depth knowledge of hostess club economics.

“Pretty much. While walking in here, I already saw several familiar faces. Also, are you sure you don't want to buy your own three thousand-dollar bottle of wine here, too?”

“Hey, I'm only here to begin with because of your employee discount.”

Atreus scoffs. “You know, for a guy who gave me a lecture on how to look important by spending money, you're being pretty stingy right now.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Devin waves his hand in a dismissive manner.

The two sharply-dressed yakuza continue to wait for their girls and their drinks, absorbing the lively atmosphere of the club and enjoying the bombastic big band jazz music from the group on stage. Nearly every booth on the first floor is full, and the VIP section overlooking it seems to be equally populated and spirited, with patrons enjoying their gourmet meals and prioritized choice in women. Without a shadow of a doubt, Crown is a prime example of how Kyoba truly comes alive in the dead of night.

Before long, a server approaches with a tray and two girls in tow. “Your drinks, gentlemen.” He says while placing a tall glass of apple juice and a ceramic mug and pot of steaming green tea on the table. “And, of course, the ladies you requested – Reiko and Max.”

The server turns to introduce the women. First is Reiko, who is even more striking than her portrait at the entrance makes her seem. Her black hair is, for tonight, tied up in a low ponytail that's draped over left shoulder, and she's sporting the dark eyeliner and eyeshadow she had in her picture. She's wearing a white-embroidered, dark blue, square neck sheath dress that hugs her waist quite snugly. Her accessories include a pearl necklace, a single white gold bracelet on her right wrist, and small white gold hoop earrings. Her shoes are two-inch ankle strap pumps. Assuming everything is of a high quality brand, she could be wearing about an easy six thousand dollars on her. Yet, despite her high-class tastes and almost otherworldly attractive face, she sports an easygoing smile and approachable eyes.

The second woman, Max, has an entirely different look, and that's putting it lightly. She's a fair-skinned Caucasian woman with a sharp face and pronounced cheekbones and jaw. Her black hair is in a layered bob cut swept to the right with dark blue highlights. She has black eyeliner and eyeshadow, like Reiko, but applied noticeably heavier, plus black lipstick. She's wearing a tightly-fitting blue flared dress with a short skirt, and a black leather belt that's loosely dangling around her waist – obviously meant for fashion instead of function. She has a black leather jacket over her dress, fishnet leggings under her skirt, and black boots. Her only accessory is a leather choker around her neck. There's no doubt about it – she's there for the men who have a preference for girls with an 'alternative' look. Frankly, her style is totally unlike any other hostess you'd normally see in clubs like this.

“Holy cow.” Devin utters, mouth agape, as he stares up and down at Reiko. “I might have to reconsider the thought of becoming a regular here.” She smiles bashfully in response.

“If you'd like anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.” The server says with a courteous bow, and promptly takes his leave to continue his duties elsewhere for the night. Reiko and Max take their seats next to the men, with Reiko obviously sitting next to Devin after his enthused reception of her.

“I don't recall seeing you here before.” Reiko comments, surmising Devin's inexperience with the club. “Is this your first time at Crown?”

The eager gangster shakes his head. “Not necessarily, but my last visit here was a couple months back. Honestly, I'm a Mystik regular, and I probably wouldn't even be here tonight if this guy's employee discount hadn't convinced me.” He remarks while pointing to Atreus.

“It is rare to see Atreus come here as a patron.” Reiko comments as she gazes at the man in question for a pronounced moment with a teasing smile.

Atreus responds by simply averting his gaze quietly and letting the two talk among themselves. He opts to give his attention to Max instead, as she's sitting to his right, patiently waiting for a conversation to start.

“So, this is your, what, third week here now?” Atreus asks the leather-clad woman. “How've things been going?” He's genuinely curious, as this is the first time since her first day that they've ever had a chance to speak to each other. Even then, their meeting was extremely short and formal.

“Not bad.” Max responds with a shrug and nod. “I've never really been inside of a hostess club before starting here, but I'm pretty decent at keeping a conversation, so things worked out well quite naturally.” She has a slightly low voice and an air of effortless confidence about her that certainly fits her image.

“Do you get along with the other girls? Sometimes these places get really competitive.”

“Yeah, I'm getting on just fine with them. They were a little apprehensive of me at first, since, obviously, I stand out from the usual hostess, but once we got to talking, I made some friends. Reiko's been the most helpful about ironing out my kinks, actually.” She casually points to the only other hostess at the table, who's been caught up in Devin's storm of casual boasting and joking.

“That's good to hear.” Atreus replies with a content nod, avoiding acknowledgment of the comment about Reiko, though not necessarily out of dislike for her. He takes his cup of hot tea and brings it to his lips for small sip. When finished, he continues. “You're right about standing out. You're probably the only hostess in this city with such a unique style.”

Max's mouth curves into a proud smile. “It's proven to be pretty popular.”

“And from Crown's perspective, it means they have a monopoly on girls like you at the moment. I don't doubt you bring a lot to the table, business-wise.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You know, since you're here as a customer, do you really want to spend your time talking about Crown's business strategies?”

Atreus smirks guiltily. “No, I suppose not.” He concedes as he takes another sip of his tea.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question about your arms?” Max asks casually.

“Go ahead.”

“Why don't you have any synthetic skin on them?” She inquires while gazing at his man-made limbs that bare their charcoal-black alloy exterior, not in disgust, but in admiration.

He looks down at them too, reflecting on the answer, as he's never really put it into words before. “I guess I just don't want to fool myself into thinking I'm still one hundred percent human.”

“Do you think that's why the synthetic skin option exists? To let the person forget that part of them is... machine now?”

“I'm sure that's part of it.” He contemplates while staring into his cup. “But I'm sure a bigger reason is so they don't stand out if they don't want to. Being augmented is a great way to attract attention – whether you want it or not.”

“So you don't care that you attract attention?” Max continues to pry out of interest.

“You see this pin on my chest?” Atreus turns his body to show the Sanada-gumi emblem pinned on the left lapel of his vest. “Because of this, I've been drawing attention to myself since the day I got it eight years ago. I'm used to it. Granted, the attention I get from this pin and the attention I get from my arms are different types of attention, but it's all the same to me – they make me stand out.”

“Fair enough.” She accepts his answer rather quickly. “How long did it take for you to get used to them?”

“Months.” He replies with a small shake of his head, recalling moments in his rehabilitation that aren't particularly pleasant for him. “For a long time, it was hard to control the strength of my grip. I guess the only thing that was easy for me was the fact I needed to take Aperibrum for only a week before my nervous system accepted my arms.”

Aperibrum is the immunosuppressive drug that prevents the brain of an augmented person from rejecting the interface – a small chip – that's installed in their brain stem, which serves as the middle man of communication between the brain and synthetic body part. The amount of time a person needs to take Aperibrum before their brain stops trying to fight against the interface's existence varies wildly from person to person, ranging anywhere from a few days to literal years.

Max nods. “I guess you are pretty lucky in that respect. You didn't end up as one of those people who needs to take it every day for God knows how long.”

“But now that I'm used to them, they have their perks. It's nice that I can sort of 'feel' them, but at the same time, and their haptic feedback allows me some feeling in them, too. But it's not terribly strong. I know they're there, but I wouldn't feel pain if I were to damage them.”

“Do you have any neat gadgets and gizmos hidden inside them like some people do?” Max asks while she slowly moves her hand towards his right arm to softly caress it. “Are your arms like their own little utility belts of helpful tools or compact arsenals of different weapons like I see in movies and video games?”

“You're really curious about them, aren't you?” Atreus remarks, the corner of mouth curving into a half-smile, but his eyes are a bit suspicious – wordlessly questioning whether her inquisitiveness comes from a place of sincerity or it's simply her way of acting interested in a patron, as is her job.

“Cybernetics is something I've always had an interest in.” Max progresses from soft caresses with her fingertips to a full but gentle grasp of his arm with her entire hand. “You know, if you were willing to meet up with me outside of Crown, we can discuss the subject a bit more personally.” She leans her body towards Atreus, tucking her chin in slightly but directing her eyes upward in a narrowed, sultry gaze.

“You really are good at this hostess thing.” Atreus snarkily responds to her aggressive approach. He shakes his head and uses his right hand to pull out his electronic cigarette from his pant pocket for a puff, shaking off Max's hand.

“Come on, I was being serious.” The overeager hostess slumps her shoulders and starts to pout. “Hostess thing aside, I really am interested. Don't be suspicious just because I'm on the clock. I don't meet up with clients outside of club hours, but I think you're a special case.”

“Alright, alright.” Atreus exhales smoke as he lets out a small laugh while trying to reassure Max. “I'll take your word for it.”

With the evening still young for the usual hustle and bustle of Kyoba's thriving nightlife, the two men willingly lose themselves in lively conversation with the two attractive ladies they've hired for the duration of their stay, which was at first intended to be short, but they ended up using multiple extensions. Despite being averse to more drinking earlier, somehow Reiko convinced Devin at some point during the lighthearted revelry to order some beer, which Atreus only consumed with considerable moderation. The hostess club enthusiast wasn't so foresightful, soon becoming more visibly drunk than he was at Joji's. Reiko's ability to seduce a man into going against his own word is, if nothing else, a testament to her charisma as one of Crown's more popular women.

Eventually, Jacob returns, tablet in hand, bearing a professional demeanor and giving a small bow. “Atreus, your time has expired. Would you like an extension? You have one more available.”

“Man, I don't want to leave Reiko.” Devin interrupts with his own loud, drunken thoughts before his friend can even answer the clerk's question. “But shit, I'm hungry and I don't wanna spend a week's paycheck on expensive hostess club food when Ami's not around.”

Atreus doesn't know what to be more impressed by: Devin's ability to still form a coherent sentence despite his clear intoxication, or the fact he's still thinking of his favorite girl Ami after being successfully enticed by Reiko.

“I'm pretty famished, myself.” Atreus comments, agreeing with his friend, but ignoring his behavior. “I'll take the check now.”

“Very well. I'll escort you gentlemen back to the lobby and check you out.” Jacob beckons the girls to stand and allow the two patrons to make their exit.

“Let's talk some more the next time you're working.” Max says to Atreus as she stands from the booth. “And maybe when you're not, too.”

“Yeah, sure.” Atreus acknowledges her request quickly, but follows it up with a quick glance to Reiko, who is assisting Devin with keeping his balance. She suddenly looks up in time for their gazes to lock for a second before Atreus turns around and starts for the lobby.

After paying for their respectably discounted stay, they finally exit Crown, and stand in the puddle-littered street once more, thinking of their next – and possibly final – stop for the night.

“Shit, I'm starving.” Devin remarks while rubbing his stomach. Somehow, in the short duration from exiting their booth until now, he had found the time to unbutton his vest and loosen his tie. “I want something filling, and I want it fast.” He continues to gripe with an almost pained expression.

“Wanna hit up Shohei's?” Atreus asks, referring to a local fast food joint.

“Christ, yes.” Devin agrees without a second's hesitation, taking off in the direction of the restaurant before Atreus does, using his umbrella as a walking stick.

The two yakuza walk a couple more blocks east, to a busy street lined with multiple gaming centers, small casinos, marijuana dispensaries, bars, and fast food restaurants. Obviously, it's no coincidence that all of these types of establishments share the same immediate vicinity. However, of all the cheap but filling eateries to choose from, one of the larger, brighter signs they see belongs to Shohei's – a tall hologram that depicts a towering cheeseburger of seven thick patties, teetering left to right from its own enormity.

Atreus and Devin walk inside to be greeted by the blue and white checkerboard vinyl floor, and long, blue marble countertop where the three ordering kiosks sit. Each one already has a line of about five or so individuals, but thanks to the quickness and painlessness of ordering from a touchscreen, they progress quite quickly.

“Tell me what you want, and I'll order it. You can go ahead and find us some seats.” Atreus suggests to his intoxicated pal.

“Number five combo, large.” Devin accepts the invitation to sit without even a thought, and lethargically walks to the seating area to throw his body onto the first vacant chair he sees.