Hidan wasn't facing the door. He never faced the door. He always sat with Larxene on the main floor of the pub with his back to it. Still, he recognised that voice from the first word and the reaction was instant. His eyes widened, he sank in his seat slightly and hunched his shoulders up a little.
That was his mom.
"Fff-" He stopped halfway through his word and changed it. "...lip."
He was terrified of her -- even enough to keep a lid on his bad language. She was scary, she didn't rant so much as beat sense into you and everybody tiptoed around her with the kind of respect usually afforded only to extremely dangerous warriors, members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Gotei 13 captains or high-up military folk. Even if you didn't know her, she just seemed to ooze so much authority that even strangers tended not to annoy her
( ... )
He'd never met her before, he'd never heard a description of her before and he'd never been told more than fleeting details about the notorious 'Izumi' before. Still, even though he had no idea who was addressing the clan at large, he found himself feeling extremely nervous. They weren't a small clan, after all, and for a lone woman to just walk in and announce that she wanted to see them...
It could only be bad news.
He couldn't see the clan members on the mezzanine floor, though. He didn't see the look of confusion on Vexen's face and the look of interest on Xaldin's. He did see Hidan cringe, however, so he got the impression that his assumption about the woman being scary was correct. Still, being the barman, he nervously stuck up a hand.
"U-uh... that's us." He said, looking extremely awkward.
Vexen had no idea who she was either. Still, he looked considerably less nervous than the barman downstairs. He didn't marry a berserker so he'd be intimidated by women, after all. Instead, he looked more confused. It was rather irregular for a single and apparently unarmed woman to just walk into the pub like she owned the place and announce that she wanted to see the clan that had unofficially made it their base of operations.
He glanced around at the others in the vicinity, making his confusion known.
In particular, he looked at Xigbar. When his eyes fell upon the Thirteenth Order's unofficial Clan Head, his expression altered from confusion to 'what have you done now?'
The call of the clan name made Xigbar sit up. He'd not long since held a long and private discussion, tucked in a corner away from the others, with someone who had given him rather a lot of money. He was in a good mood, right up until some crazy woman walked in and asked for the clan at large, anyway.
Things like that were never a good sign.
He caught the look from Vexen and gave him a look of injured innocence, holding his hands up as if to display said innocence.
Larxene, of course, recognised the voice all too well, and much like Xigbar, and very much unlike Hidan, she sat up straight in her chair, peering curiously at the source of the noise.
"Oops," she giggled, covering her lips with her fingertips in a sweet and girly way. The way she always acted when someone was in trouble and she was loving every minute of it. "Looks like someone's in the bad books," she sang.
She liked Izumi. She liked anyone who terrified Hidan that much. Somehow the possibility of witnessing a throwdown between her and the rest of the Clan was just too good an opportunity to miss. Which was why she stood up, resting on her palms, on the table, grinning brightly. "I should see what's going on!"
Unlike some of the rest of the clan, Lexaeus had actually heard about Izumi before. When he heard that voice, he knew in his bones it would be her. She was one of few he would have trusted to care for Zexion as well as himself.
He looked down from the mezzanine at the woman who made such an entrance. His curiosity was matched by that of Crystal, taking a break from glass collecting, and Saix, who bore the stoic expression and defensive body posture of someone on high alert, with a loved one to protect.
Axel, despite being Spira's buttmonkey, somehow managed to miss the bulk of Izumi's ranty diatribe concerning Zexion, betrayal, how disloyal they all are and their apparent ongoing heartlessness by being out on that Mark Hunt he planned to take on a few days prior. It was lucky for him, given his previous (and thankfully and/or hopefully now shaken) chronic backstabbing disorder. He was happily oblivious to what had gone on
( ... )
Saix acknowledged Axel's entry with a nod of his head; polite, formal, and so terribly him. Axel had been fortunate to miss the telling off they had received, but was less fortunate to walk in while Hidan's mother was still present.
She was seated at a table in the corner, talking to Lexaeus.
"Zexion's alchemy teacher is here," he said, in answer to the question from Axel. "She is unhappy with us, and does not appear to be a woman to tangle with lightly." She raised Hidan, decked Xigbar, and Larxene called her 'Ms Curtis'; this was definitely not someone Saix would like to be up against.
"You missed it," he said, before looking Axel over and adding, "but it seems your Mark did not miss you."
Axel looked around, trying to spot the stranger. It wasn't hard. There was usually only one imposing individual in the Sandsea who was conspicuous due to their dreadlocks and now there were two and one of them was a woman. He gave her a curious look and then glanced down at his arm and the spines that stuck out of it.
"Yeah... nobody warned me that creepy walking cacti spray you with needles when you burn them." He said, shrugging one shoulder.
Well, doing it with both would have hurt.
"I got what the bill poster wanted, though." He grinned, showing him the needles and flower. "I doubt there's much of a reward for this one, but it's certainly been a learning experience."
"For one thing," Saix commented, "you've discovered that Cacti here spray you with needles if attacked." He'd caught a barrage of them himself, once. It had taken a while to remove all the spines. They hadn't penetrated deeply, they were simply numerous. These days he made sure to eliminate any in the vicinity quickly. They were supposed to be peaceful, and disinclined to attack unless provoked, but something about Saix always seemed to provoke them.
"There should be tweezers in the first aid kit behind the bar," he said. "I'll fetch them."
At least Axel hadn't caught them in the buttock, unlike Saix.
He stood up and headed for the bar. At about the same time, Lexaeus pointed out Axel with a gentle incline of his head, and the woman he was talking to turned to look, before turning back to Lexaeus.
Comments 62
That was his mom.
"Fff-" He stopped halfway through his word and changed it. "...lip."
He was terrified of her -- even enough to keep a lid on his bad language. She was scary, she didn't rant so much as beat sense into you and everybody tiptoed around her with the kind of respect usually afforded only to extremely dangerous warriors, members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Gotei 13 captains or high-up military folk. Even if you didn't know her, she just seemed to ooze so much authority that even strangers tended not to annoy her ( ... )
Reply
He'd never met her before, he'd never heard a description of her before and he'd never been told more than fleeting details about the notorious 'Izumi' before. Still, even though he had no idea who was addressing the clan at large, he found himself feeling extremely nervous. They weren't a small clan, after all, and for a lone woman to just walk in and announce that she wanted to see them...
It could only be bad news.
He couldn't see the clan members on the mezzanine floor, though. He didn't see the look of confusion on Vexen's face and the look of interest on Xaldin's. He did see Hidan cringe, however, so he got the impression that his assumption about the woman being scary was correct. Still, being the barman, he nervously stuck up a hand.
"U-uh... that's us." He said, looking extremely awkward.
Reply
He glanced around at the others in the vicinity, making his confusion known.
In particular, he looked at Xigbar. When his eyes fell upon the Thirteenth Order's unofficial Clan Head, his expression altered from confusion to 'what have you done now?'
Reply
Things like that were never a good sign.
He caught the look from Vexen and gave him a look of injured innocence, holding his hands up as if to display said innocence.
"Hey," he said, "for once, it ain't me."
Reply
"Oops," she giggled, covering her lips with her fingertips in a sweet and girly way. The way she always acted when someone was in trouble and she was loving every minute of it. "Looks like someone's in the bad books," she sang.
She liked Izumi. She liked anyone who terrified Hidan that much. Somehow the possibility of witnessing a throwdown between her and the rest of the Clan was just too good an opportunity to miss. Which was why she stood up, resting on her palms, on the table, grinning brightly. "I should see what's going on!"
Reply
He looked down from the mezzanine at the woman who made such an entrance. His curiosity was matched by that of Crystal, taking a break from glass collecting, and Saix, who bore the stoic expression and defensive body posture of someone on high alert, with a loved one to protect.
Lexaeus knew the posture well.
Reply
Reply
She was seated at a table in the corner, talking to Lexaeus.
"Zexion's alchemy teacher is here," he said, in answer to the question from Axel. "She is unhappy with us, and does not appear to be a woman to tangle with lightly." She raised Hidan, decked Xigbar, and Larxene called her 'Ms Curtis'; this was definitely not someone Saix would like to be up against.
"You missed it," he said, before looking Axel over and adding, "but it seems your Mark did not miss you."
Reply
"Yeah... nobody warned me that creepy walking cacti spray you with needles when you burn them." He said, shrugging one shoulder.
Well, doing it with both would have hurt.
"I got what the bill poster wanted, though." He grinned, showing him the needles and flower. "I doubt there's much of a reward for this one, but it's certainly been a learning experience."
Reply
"There should be tweezers in the first aid kit behind the bar," he said. "I'll fetch them."
At least Axel hadn't caught them in the buttock, unlike Saix.
He stood up and headed for the bar. At about the same time, Lexaeus pointed out Axel with a gentle incline of his head, and the woman he was talking to turned to look, before turning back to Lexaeus.
Reply
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