Sunday 1:7- Proper Shopping Etiquette (Ken Omi Aya-chan)

[plotbunnytiff.livejournal.com]

 

Murakawa’s was slightly busier than expected, bustling with a odd mixture of middle-aged housewives doing their normal weekly shopping and loud chatty high-school kids raiding the junk food aisles and reveling in a whole day to themselves. It wasn’t uncommon to see one or two of the younger set here running family errands (like Aya was) but there seemed to be quite a few more than usual.

 

Ken grabbed a cart, testing the turn radius and the feel of the grip before rolling it aside to try another one. Carts were a serious business; and having a crappy one made shopping from a necessary chore into a never ending disaster. When he finally found one to his liking, he turned it towards Omi and Aya, standing at attention with a satisfied expression fixed in place.

Comments

[fieryredqueen.livejournal.com]

Farfarello took a step forward, beseeching, when he saw an older gentleman with a cane step forward from the crowd and put a hand on Ken's shoulder. "Now, now, son," he said in a kindly voice. "He's just trying to help you, can't you see that? I used to be a violent young man m'self, and if someone had shown me the kindness this man's showing you now..." He put his other hand on Farfarello's shoulder and squeezed, his eyes overbright with moisture.

Farfarello smiled meaningfully at him, wondering if Schuldig was responsible for this. If he was, it probably meant he was following Farf's lead--for the moment--and he was grateful. He could always ask, but decided to leave it a mystery for the moment. He patted the man on the back gently, watching claw-kitty from the corner of his eye.

[fireun.livejournal.com]

It really was a treat, watching Farf work. Watch Farf engage in a mindfuck worthy of a true master made Schuldich warm and happy in all the wrong ways. Nabbing some of the local fauna, he tossed Farf a hand. Surely not even Weiss would fight such a well meaning old man.

This was almost worth getting up early for, watching the Weiss kids react in such hilariously overdramatic ways. Their tension and hatred swirled delicately with hints of fear like an exotic mixed drink. Taking a deep breath, Schuldich stepped forward.

“Frightening as it might be fore your egos, kitties, I wasn’t here for you.” Schuldich cast an award winning smile at the group in front of him, dripping polite sincerity. “Just came over to collect my partner here. You know how much dad hates it when you leave the house without putting a note on the kitchen table first.” His smile widened to flash teeth. “Now, we can dispense with all the amusing dramatics, right?”

[pichi.livejournal.com]

Schuldig could say he was only there to pick up Farfarello, but Omi wouldn’t believe it until they were gone. Schuldig was too fast for the naked eye, and yet strangely enough, he and Farfarello were both still there. If that was all he was there for, he wasn’t doing his job very well.

Talk of caring fathers was a can of worms to its own that, after a moment’s heartache, Omi set to the side.

“Get him and get out then if that’s all you want.” He stared down Schuldig, his muscles stiffening as he braced himself. One ear remained on what he could hear from the phone. Come on, stop wasting time with phone questions and get moving!

He ignored the old man by Ken, and made a mental note to have a stern talk with his teammate about his temper and not letting references to killing slip so easily from his mouth.

[plotbunnytiff.livejournal.com]

Ken had to take a deep breath as yet another missle blast of chaos caught him unawares. His mental processes took in Schuldig, the elderly puppet being manipulated, and the entire situation at large, and formulated how he could regain his footing at least.

He slowly backed up toward Omi and Aya-chan, spat out a "No. We'll go. Groceries can wait.", and started herding them quickly towards the exit, sparing Farfarello and Schuldig volitle glares as he made his way to the door. The red haze had retreated to the edges of his vision, but his blood was practically singing with rage, and it took all his willpower to focus on his two companions.

[fieryredqueen.livejournal.com]

"Aya, princess," Farfarello called softly as she was hurried past him like a lost lamb. His hands twitched imperceptibly for his knives and his brain began to think red thoughts at the concept, but he settled himself down easily. It was a lot easier now than it had been just after the Fall, that was for certain. "Ask question. Don't let them keep ye in the dark. You know what I mean, love."

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

[Whoa... we're moving... and Aya-Chan's still on the phone? xD yay for posting in two places at once. Damn, we either need to stop calling each other or figure out an easier way to do phone calls...]

Don't let them keep ye in the dark. Aya-Chan found herself staring back at the other two men as she found herself being herded towards the exit. A million thoughts were running through her mind, but she found herself suddenly jolted back to reality at hearing Yohji's voice.

"Wait!" She stopped suddenly as they exited the grocery store, momentarily blinded by the brightness outside, still holding onto the cell phone but no longer able to grasp Yohji's words. "Ran-niisan... said he was coming."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran pulled up to the front of the store, parking askew to the sidewalk and leaving his car running. He was going to grab his sister and go.

After killing them.

But three familiar shapes caught his attention before he got to the doors, in the parking lot. Instead he got back in his car and screeched up beside them. "Aya-chan, get in." He said through the window, checking her over hastily. He glanced behind him. No sign of Farfarello or the mindreader. "Where are they?" He addressed the others.

It didn't make sense. Had Aya lied? Why would she have done such a thing? But why would Schwartz have just said hello, and left?

But she was safe. His hands almost shook against the wheel.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan glanced backwards, almost on instinct, before reaching for the car door as Ran had told her to. She froze, however, her hand only inches from the handle, Farfarello's voice ringing in the back of her mind.

Ask questions. Don't let them keep ye in the dark.

She opened her mouth, but found that words had completely escaped her mind. Taking a deep breath instead, she got into the car, unable to look anyone in the eye. There'd be time for questions after they got home. Or maybe, she thought hopefully, she wouldn't have to ask anything to get some answers...

[pichi.livejournal.com]

Omi wasn’t wholly willing to turn his back on known enemies, regardless of any claims to no longer be at odds. As far as he was concerned, Ouka had had nothing to do with being at odds either. It was pure and simple sadism. He made a face as Ken tried to direct him, wanting to protest, but it was best to get Aya away from them if he could. Omi, for his part, ducked out of Ken’s guiding hand to cover their tails out instead of walking beside them.

He couldn’t have been gladder to see Ran’s car waiting outside, and Aya getting inside it. Schwarz was up to something, Omi was sure of it... He just couldn’t figure out what. And that worried him.

“Still inside, probably,” he answered Ran. “Ken-kun and I will take care of the groceries.” His eyes shifted to Aya-chan. “Can I have my phone back?”

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

"Uhn..." It took Aya-Chan a moment to understand what Omi was talking about. She released the death-grip she had had on the phone and mechanically dropped it into his hands. "M'sorry... I forgot I had it."

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran observed the phone being passed over - the phone that was obviously unconnected to Yohji.

His fingers tightened on the wheel. He had thought - Yohji, of all people - his sister could have been kidnapped by the enemy before he had reached her. He had trusted him.

He had trusted him.

A mistake. Aya, he reminded himself, would have known better. He had slipped too much into careless habits. Ran was not someone he could afford to be.

"Groceries might not be needed." he observed to his teammates. "We can't afford to take on Schwartz unprepared."

He started to drive away, his jaw tight. They were not far enough away yet. Schwartz could still find them. How had this happened?

He glanced at his sister. "Aya. Are you all right?"

[skyrat13.livejournal.com]

Yohji stopped to listen as the phone switched to that annoying disconnected noise. Aya had probably hung up because Ran had intervened.

Probably.

Maybe.

If schwartz had decided to be truly confrontational, Ran's presence might not make a difference.

Well, it's not like Aya Chan had really been listening to him on the phone anyway. It was stupid that Ran had insisted on Yohji staying tethered to it, instead of taking him with him. It seemed obvious to Yohji that the real matter was that Ran didn't trust him to actually help. At least not with matters concerning Aya Chan.

Now Yohji wasn't sure what to do. Showing up uselessly after the fact, having contributed nothing to the scenerio would be rather embarrassing. Not that having rushed to the store in a blind panic only to turn around and go home, wouldn't.

Feeling far too uneasy to go home without at least scouting the perimeters first, Yohji managed to convince himself that he needed to buy more cigarettes, and resumed his trek towards Murakawa’s.

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan looked up at the sound of Ran's voice. "I'm fine..." she stared at him for a moment before turning her head to look out the window again. "... why?" The question popped out before she could stop it, and then, the rest just tumbled out before she even knew what she was saying. "Who were they?" How did they know me?

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

"Enemies." Ran's grip tightened on the steering wheel as Aya asked the question he had expected to hear.

If it had been a teammate, he might have left it at that, but she was too curious to leave it alone. "They are bad people, Aya. If you ever see them again, get away and call me..." He gritted his teeth, then added, "or one of the others."

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

There were so many questions left unanswered, but from the tone in Ran's voice, Aya-Chan felt as though there were questions that would never be answered. Still... curiousity killed the cat, didn't it? And she almost felt as if she deserved some sort of answer.

"But..." should she ask? And what would she ask...?

[Heh... "curiousity killed the cat"... *cough*]

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

Ran flicked his eyes to her, then back to the road.

He knew she deserved answers. But she was still innocent in his mind, still untainted by the blood on his hands that had brought her back to life. He was supposed to take all of the grime of this existence for her, so she could live as she deserved.

He softened his voice, and stressed again, "They're bad men, Aya-chan."

[7bladed.livejournal.com]

Aya-Chan took a deep breath; the answer wasn't exactly what she had expected... she glanced briefly at Ran, and decided to drop the topic. He'd tell her when he felt comfortable... right? And she hoped it'd come sometime soon. Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt to prod the others for a bit of information? Nothing big, of course... just small pieces of information that might give her a bigger picture of what was going on.

"I... see..." she said finally, breaking the awkward silence between them.

[genuinelie.livejournal.com]

They pulled up to the Koneko, an awkward silence in the car. Ran nodded at his sister, his way of acknowledging the conversation had ended, however unresolutely.

He waited for her to go inside, unwilling to let her out of his sight until she was within the building.