Baiken managed to keep the dress secret from Zander when they arrived back at the hotel.
"See you in ten?" He pointed at the reception desk.
"Yes, I'll be there, thanks again" the man behind it answered.
In their room Zander threw his bags on one bed and placed hers on the other "You want to keep that on that you have now? Or maybe dress in your new clothes?" He asked her seeing the clothes Diana gave her was a little slack, she looked like a girl with her older sister's hand-me-downs.
Baiken argued with her self at that moment, dress in the dress, or don't!? What should she do!?
"Baiken?" He asked again.
"I'll dress quick" she said grabbing all her bags and heading into the bathroom.
Again she froze, the jeans! Just wear the jeans! But that dress? She wanted to see how he would react if she wore it... Why? His aura was calm, it didn't fluctuate, he found no interest in her!
She peeked into the bags, that white so clear between all the material... Why? Won't he find interest? She looked in the mirror, her lip still had that cut from her fight, her face only barely bruised, was she not pretty? She knew she wasn't as pretty as Diana, not by a long margin.
Is this what Diana meant by making yourself more appealing to men? Is Zander such a man? That needs to be drawn to her, unlike the scum she slept with in the past who bartered for her body and used it as a means for sexual pleasure!? To use her!?
Zander was so down to earth she could scream! Why does she feel so close to him, yet still so far!? Was it that hard to get fucked!? Is that why she's so frustrated!? Because he doesn't want to fuck her!?
She brought her had to her mouth, that sounded like her old self, how could she let that go? Its edged into her, seventeen years of it.
There was only one way to attempt at letting her past demons be, and find out how hard it was to get Zander closer, and that was to wear the dress.
She didn't care what he thought, men in her life only had her as a tool, as a sex object, as a means to let go of frustration, Yamamoto beat her extra hard if he had a shit day with the emperor, but Zander, was just normal, not frustrated by his dick, not 'waiting for the time he can see her naked' he was just, him.
So if he wanted her to leave that life behind, he will respect that she wants him, to see her.
She got out of Diana's clothes, got into the white lingerie, then slipped the dress over, one glance in the mirror and she held her breath for a few seconds, her bust closed but shoulders wide open, it looked good, but then she noticed that scar on her, she clasped it with a hand, shit! Its ugly against this dress!
She panicked again, got into those white slippers, then gathering her confidence she walked out the bathroom but clasped her scar with her hand.
Zander was folding his new clothes packing them in a closet when he turned to her, he gave a double glance and his eyes got stuck on her.
"Wh, where did you get that dress?" He asked, Baiken still felt him too calm, although his eyes were welded to her.
"The shopkeeper gave it to me, as a gift"
"You didn't nick it did you?"
"Nick?"
"Steal it?"
"N, no! She gave it to me I swear!"
He wasn't convinced, Zander could see that was an expensive dress, and no one in their rightful mind would ever just give something like that away "I'll, have to make sure tomorrow"
"Make sure?"
"By the shopkeeper, that you didn't steal that?"
Her frustration flowed over and she dropped both hands "You! Stubborn bastard! I told her I wanted something so I can look good for you! I told her I wanted something beautiful not sexy! Because you don't like sexy do you!? So here is my attempt at being beautiful! But it seems I'm still just a fucking animal that came from an island! Stealing fruit like a monkey and running off!" She screamed and slammed the bathroom door shut hard.
Zander stood speechless, he didn't even take into account she wanted to look formal, but it still worried him, did Baiken really get that dress for free...? She did look magnificent in it.
Baiken stood glaring at herself in the mirror, not even now did she want to cry, she felt no tears come, no sadness, only anger. She slipped the dress off and got into the jeans, took the T-shirt and threw it over.
Coming out of the bathroom again she saw clearly he felt like an idiot, but "I dont give a fuck" she said and he flinched "That's the last time I'm attempting to be someone else! I thought to myself you are a man worthy of improving how I look, to hide more of my naked bruised body so I can be somewhat more beautiful, but that's a misperception from my side it seems! My mistake!"
"Baiken!"
"Shut it, I want to leave my old life behind, but leave me alone now and I'll go right back to it, its all I know, so I don't know how hard it is to impress an honest man, it can even be easier to die than impress a man! But don't call me a thief! Not ever! Whenever I took something it didn't belong to anyone anymore, because usually I took it from a corpse! Its not like a corpse needs money right!?"
"Ok that's enough!"
"Don't fucking silence me! You fight well I'll admit! But I'll still fuck you up!"
She saw a different face appear on him, she never saw him angry before, and now it seems she's pressing all the right buttons "Go ahead, get angry, I'm good at making men angry"
"Shut your fokkin trap woman!" He screamed in a very crass broken accent, this made her onslaught subside slightly, his bare broken words, not an English accent, diffrent, the 'R' of his words pronounced with a flicking tongue almost like a snake, making them sound like the AK-47's rapid barks that time she got shot.
"Would you please excuse me for being a fokkin poes!? I didn't call you a thief!"
"You did! You said I stole it!'
"And if the shopkeeper sais no! Then I'll accept it! I can't afford that fokkin dress that's what I meant!"
That 'r' pronunciation had her take a step back, it was powerful, she never heard that accent before, not even in him, until now, it had her hooked, somehow she wanted to keep fighting with him to hear more, but how far will he be pushed?
She walked over to him and his stature broadened, she felt his aura stir finally, but it wasn't subdued, it wasn't lust, it wasn't want, he was ready now, she could feel in his stance he was ready to defend himself against her!
How she somehow wished now he was just a bit like Tachibana, she'd order the clothes from his body... How does he even look under that jacket? He had to be impressive, he did stand his man against two thugs twice his size, basically breaking them with each blow!
'Hold yourself Baiken' she told herself, he was untaim, who's the real animal here? She the Akuma? Or he the stray wolf? He was diffrent, he didn't fall for lust, lust almost hand him killed, she slowly reached up and fisted his shirt in a grip, somehow they both where breathless.
"Don't" he said.
Was it him getting ready to fight? Or did he know she wanted to tare it off? Would he think that foul of her? Was it foul?
"Tell me?" She said.
Their eyes locked like two alphas in stare down, they both knew each other's capability.
"I don't want to hurt you"
Her heart melted.
"You think I want to fight you?"
"Your clenched fist, its either that or sex, but you know what I would have said then"
Her hand left him, their temper cooled "Tell me?"
"Tell you what Baiken!?"
"Did I atleast look beautiful in that dress?"
He blinked, and with a grunt passed her to the door "Fok man! Of course you did!"