Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 353: Arc 5, - 47: Girls’ Night Out Part I

Bulbs of dim yellow illuminated the interior, with neon lights over and around the bar area. Dozens—nearing fifty or sixty—people were sat at the barstools or the circular tables around.

Fairy lights of yellow hung from corner to corner and above the tables. The chatter in here was as overwhelming as the smell of cigar smoke and various sugars and fruits, carrying light scents of alcohol with them.

The line from outside filtered in, allowing those who were departing to have some space. It seemed most patrons were making a beeline for the staircase on the opposite side of the doors, where neon lights descended down.

A small band played in the corner of the room, with a large hat to collect tips and take requests. However, the light energetic jive the band was playing, seemed to overlap over some other muffled music—the source of it, downstairs.

Fumeko walked forward, eyeing up to her side, "So, where’s the crumb?"

"Shush now little detective, y’never know if a caster’s ’bout," Alicia barely had to hush in the loud surroundings. "This bar’s swanky ’n all, but the real magic, the charm, the class’s downstairs. C’mon, y’gotta loosen up."

Fumeko was taken by the arm and swayed forward by the taller woman. The brunette kept her eyes in a swivel, trying to catch anything shady out of the corner of her eye.

All she saw were well-dressed clientele, a few drunkards that were on the verge of being kicked out and food and colourful drinks in oddly shaped glasses being served around.

Down the steps they went, following the crowd in. The lights of yellow grew dimmer as it bounced off the walls of the stairs. It exited into a much larger room.

Neon lights of pink showered the room in its glow, alongside brighter yellow lights that were positioned carefully to create dim and dark areas all over the place.

Booths of bolstered seats were all around with seemingly even more opulently dressed patrons. The drinks sloshed of browns and much finer colours, coming from taps and shakers from the bartenders.

The bar itself hosted a vaster collection of alcohols and mixes stretching across the wall. A semi-circle stage was set against the middle of the wall, with musicians playing a jazzy swing at the back.

There, at the front of the stage with a sway, was a cat-woman in a thin, flowy black dress with her hand on the neck of a long microphone. She sung a melody with the tune—her voice, angelic.

Fumeko’s eyes widened and her face took on a hue of bright red as she saw several poles attached from the ceiling on one side of the room, connecting to a large table surrounded by a booth where patrons drank and enjoyed the show.

Said show being, scantily and seductively dressed- Fumeko averted her gaze and instinctively stuck closer to Alicia. "What’s wrong?" Alicia looked down. "Not used t’the place?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"I, uh..." Fumeko squeaked.

Alicia took her by the hand and took a deep breath, hinting Fumeko to follow.

Fumeko looked at her and inhaled, then exhaled.

"We gotta find a seat, we’ll keep’a sea’s distance from those lot. You’ve seen blood, war, gore and death, a little skin ain’t gonna hurt’cha little detective," Alicia smiled and guided her along.

"I know, but..." Fumeko couldn’t really look up while she meekly followed.

The two found a quaint booth with brown bolstered seats where they sat at the edge—five other people were in the same curve of a booth, in a group of two and three away from each other respectively.

The cat-girl singer took the microphone by the stand and put her lips close to the head, "In the sultry night under the moon’s embrace~ Your touch ignites a fire—a passionate chase~! With every step we sway in time; in the rhythm of desire, our hearts entwwwwine~

In the dim-lit room we dance so close, lost in the rhythm, where no one knows; your whispers soft, your gaze sooo~ deep—in this swing of love, our seeecrets we keeeep.

Swaying hips and whispered sighs, underneath the starlit skies~ In your arms I’m mesmerized~ In this dance of love, you keep me surprised~!

In the dim-lit room we dance so close, LOST in the rhythm, where no one knows; your whispers soft your gaze so deeeep, in this swing of love, our secrrreeeets we keep~"

As the song continued, the drinks Alicia ordered arrived to the table. Something fruity red and a raspberry along the rim of the cocktail glass, Alicia had. She passed a short-stemmed glass to the brunette to her right.

"I imagine you’re a brandy kinda girl," Alicia said as she sipped her drink which made her lips pucker. "Might also warm you up a little," she noticed no gloves or earmuffs on the brunette.

"Luckily there’s radiators here and a few minutes in the cold’s nothing to me," Fumeko ignored the chill across her skin. She stared to the table and saw the brownish drink, "Lucky guess," she took it and drank.

"Call it luck’or perception, I got it right," Alicia beamed. She then leaned into the seat; her pink eyes darting through the clientele and then to Fumeko, "So, you seeing someone?"

"What?" Fumeko twisted her gaze to the other, "No!"

"Y’were redder than a lobster in a steam cooker a couple’a minutes ago."

"How’s that related? Wouldn’t that mean the opposite?" Fumeko glared... then took more sips of the brandy, making a groan as she felt the warming sensation.

"Don’t make a fuss ’bout the details, just makin’ small talk," Alicia beamed. "So, single or taken?"

"Why? So you can spin a story out of it?"

"Oh come on, that’s important to you sure, but it’s hardly news," the reporter waved her hand. "Unless~ Ooo, don’t tell me there’s a scandal going on! Which one? The blonde or the redhead?"

"No," Fumeko faced away, "It’s nothing like that. I’d never do that..."

"Ah, so you’ve thought of it then. Unrequited love," Alicia sighed sympathetically.

The brunette leered to her, "Not what I said. If you even think to make a story on this using my dad’s name..."

"Didn’t even cross my mind, nope! Besides, Detective Namora’s daughter’s dating someone’s still hardly journalism."

Fumeko... glanced at her drink and took a gulp, finishing the glass. Only her last name mattered it seemed...

"It’s such’a pity you don’t trust me much little detective, maybe y’might have some fun if you weren’t as tense as a bowstring," her eyes darted to the bar as someone took a seat on the barstool.

"We’re not here to have fun..." and yet she drank that brandy without a second thought. Fumeko sighed, "It’s complicated—me seeing someone. It’s confusing right now."

Alicia turned her gaze back with a bright smile, "Well go on, details, details."

"I only met her recently at my graduation. Hell, I’ve only met her twice, but I feel like, we really, bonded," Fumeko played with her fingers. "And even though we knew each other for such a short time, we kissed..."

"Ooo, were the two meetings like dates then~?" she leaned further forward and held up her chin with her palm.

"Not really... Maybe?"

"A kiss on the second date doesn’t sound like’a bad thing."

"That’s not the issue though; there’s this other girl I like too and I’ve known her a bit longer. She’s my original crush who," Fumeko pursed her lips and pondered.

...

Alicia waited intently.

Fumeko breathed in and the words escaped her lips, "I haven’t really gotten over yet... So as I said, it’s all a bit confusing to me."

"D’you like this new girl?" Alicia snappily replied.

"Well, yeah," Fumeko furrowed her brows. "I do, weirdly enough."

"Have you confessed to this old crush—who I’m guessing’s one of your party?"

The brunette glared, "...Yeah."

"Nothing’s happened from that, has it?"

"Not much. Nothing as crazy as a kiss on the lips anyway."

Alicia beamed, "There y’go, you have your answer. Nothing’s lost from you dating this new girl who seems more interested in you."

She pouted in return, "What if, I don’t like something about her? What if the other girl does something that makes me more flustered and like her even more?"

"Ahhh, young love," Alicia giggled. "It’s not the end’a the world detective. You’ll fail a hundred times before you make a breakthrough; you’ll make mistakes all along’the way.

It’s like’a case, no? If y’got so many questions, why not take the plunge and figure out the answers for yourself? Now’s the time to put yourself out there and see what’s what—what better age to do it?"

Fumeko mulled it over quietly, watching the few drops of brandy left sliding down the glass. It’s not like Alicia was wrong. But, "How old are you again?" Fumeko looked to her.

Alicia looked up to think, "Oh, by June I’ll be twenty-seven."

"You’re nearly a decade older than me?"

"Hck!" Alicia felt an arrow through the throat—one of her own imagination that is. Her eyes were shut as she stopped breathing.

"And you said you can’t hold down a man? So you’ve never been in a relationship?"

Alicia squeaked as the onslaught continued—her eyes might as well be two x-s and her heart might as well be bleeding out onto the table. "No, but I’ve been on a few dates before..." she wheezed out.

"A few...?" Fumeko raised a brow.

Her head fell onto the table as the final blow was dealt. She had no strength to raise a white flag. What remaining soul of Alicia spoke, "I guess guys don’t see me as suitable... But I’ve always loved my job since I was young, so there’s that."

"Why don’t you just date a girl then?"

Alicia popped back up with a deep breathe in, "Oh, well, I don’t swing that way little detective. Though I suppose you exclusively swing that way so."

"How, can you tell?"

"Ignoring the fact that you just said you liked two girls, the moment your eyes wandered to the goods over there," Alicia pointed subtly to the poles on the other side of the room, "You were blushing at the ladies, not the gentlemen."

"How would you even know that?" Fumeko seemed to doubt.

"Attention’s key. Y’never know what you might see, hear or smell while you’re not lookin’," she adjusted her glasses.

"That, makes half-sense..." Fumeko shook her head. "Yeah, I think I prefer girls. There’s," she stopped herself.

"There’s what?"

An exception technically... However, the brunette kept her lips sealed. "There’s a ninety-nine percent chance I like women."

"Hm," Alicia took a sip of her drink, "I’ll ignore your little cover-up for now."

Fumeko sighed.

"That guy," Alicia said with only the side of her eyes in the direction. She pushed Fumeko’s cheek to face the bar and the barstools.

A man with short black hair going down till his neck and some facial hair was drinking a glass of something. A couple of tattoos were present on his hands and fingers. He wore a dark green jacket with hints of black all over.

"What about him?" Fumeko examined from afar.

Alicia pushed her cheek back so she wasn’t staring at him, "Keep your eyes on him every now and again, that’s the crumb," she said, a little quieter. "He’s what I caught wind of from a friend. See that tattoo poking out from his neck?"

Fumeko gave it a look and now somewhat noticed the black markings, "Yeah."

"It’s an insect. He’s a notorious gangster from the Black Ladybug Boys—a gang mostly ’round Mandrake."

"What do we do from here? What’s the crumb and how do we get it?"

"That’s the fun part, y’never know."

"Excuse me...?"