Like the Barenaked Ladies

[bartenderizing]

Who: Shizuo and OPEN
When: August 7th-13th
Where: Specified with each prompt
What: Let's just say that it's been quite a week.



I. Ra's Third Destruction - August 7th (Temple of Ra)
[ It'd been a while, and Izumo hadn't shown up at the bar. Like at all. Which was starting to get Shizuo very concerned. Enough that he did something that he would otherwise never go about doing; Actually invite himself to Mikoto/Ra's temple. Imagine his surprise when there were two giant and neon purple, pink and green centipedes crawling all over the structure and already having started to break through the walls' integrity. ]

Ah... Shit.

[ There's no borderline, which meant something happened to Izumo. Which has the blond looking to see if he can grab someone to run assistance. And him without those damn gauntlets that were made for this exact thing. ]


II. Double Vision Delivery - August 7th (The Far Shore)
[ While not in the best state right now, Shizuo was walking down the paths and across the Far Shore with two people that were in far worse shape than he was. If being comatose and snoozing away counted as worse shape, at least. Which meant anyone could see the awkward scene of Shizuo trying to carry the two over one shoulder, as his other arm hung limp as a wet noodle at his side.

Look, it's weird and out in the open for anyone to see. That can't be helped. It's less awkward than the destroyed temple. ]


III. Double Cross's Delayed Debut - August 8th-10th (Double Cross Bar)
[ This was about the time that Double Cross was supposed to officially open for business. It was certainly supposed to be one of these days. However the bar had this thing going on where, despite the time it was actively being renovated, people could still be served if they showed up and Izumo was around. The supplies were in, everything was cleaned up and that wall of photos had started to get filled out.

Now there was a different blond in place, manning the bar. Not that everyone noticed when they first got in; after all, they looked similar enough for some people. The main thing is that they sounded different. Shizuo's voice was deeper, despite being the thinner/more waif of the two. The other is that this blond wore a black vest instead of a nice suit jacket, though both were suitable for a bartender's uniform. ]

Welcome.


IV. Poor Man's Football - August 9th - 13th (Abandoned Temples)
[ Hearing strange and loud sounds from the abandoned temples is nothing new. Unless you haven't been here for long, it was a regular enough occurrence that it usually meant someone was training or working on something.

This time, though it was hard to tell when or how he got them there (or from where,) there was a junk car and motorcycle on the temple property. Given the notice for being crushed, they weren't stolen from someone who would actually care enough to miss it. Neither had wheels, and judging by the lack of shattered fiberglass and filaments, the lights were also gone.

Today's disastrous sounds were coming from Shizuo, currently bound with one arm in a sling, trying to kick the motorcycle carcass up to bounce up onto his knee. The trick isn't kicking it up- it's managing the height and angle to easily get to his knee. Just as the difficulty for any other football trick is. ]

C'mon. I know I can do this...


V. Cat Tower Tribulations - August 9th - 12th (Aine's Temple)
[ After getting his shoulder looked at, and 'advised' to wear the sling again for a few days, there was a new challenge that started presenting itself. For, at the temple, there were two sets of problems. By two sets, that meant two striped kittens that went by the names Eun and Min. When he wore the sling for all of the first two days after the ablution, they weren't a problem because he was mostly sleeping that time away. Now he was moving around, and with one arm unable to stop them, it wasn't long until they realized he was a moving cat tower.

The problem is that he didn't know they were there until he saw something, and that only alerted him to one of the felines. If he saw the grey striped one, then the brown one was probably on his back or something. This was probably one of their more favorite games. ]

Oi, stop- Dammit, not again.

[ Help. ]


VI. The Wildcard
[ Come up with something, anything, for this time period if none of the other prompts fits. You can either just toss that in, or plot with me at demonia ]

Comments

[sing_for_me]

[...All the way up there? ]

No!

[She says a little too loudly. Catching herself, she softens her voice.]

I mean..I can do it. I'll make it there.

[bartenderizing]

[ Sorry, but with that reaction, he doesn't exactly have confidence in her reassurance. Which is why he kneels down. ]

C'mon. I'll take the weight of them. It's easier for someone like me, even if my shoulder's like this. There's no reason for you to get hurt over trying to help.

[sing_for_me]

[Alex takes a step away from him. Okay, was it a mature move? Maybe not.]

I can do it.

[She knows he's being considerate of her, and she appreciates that, but she said she was going to help so she's going to help. Alex does give him an apologetic look for sidestepping him before she starts heading towards the temple. ]

[bartenderizing]

[ Well, that's definitely not what he was expecting- then again, he's still in a state of being surprised by her initial response. Yet what else can he do when she starts walking off with his twin brother, but get back to his feet and follow alongside. ]

You really don't have to, and given how you almost shouted 'no' right away... I mean, don't feel like you're in a corner or being forced into doing this.

[sing_for_me]

[Alex shakes her head.]

It's not that. If anything I'm the one forcing my help on you..

[She was stubborn when she didn't have to be.]

The 'no' was because I didn't want you to uh..stop me. Sorry.

[bartenderizing]

A preemptive no... Right. Definitely not a reaction to all the damn stairs that no one likes.

[ Literally no one likes them. He's pretty sure that it was why one of the participants in his ablution was so ready to drop his borderline and just kill his god. At least it's one of the reasons why that kid hates him.

No one likes those stairs. ]

[sing_for_me]

[Shit. There were stairs? Sure, Alex liked hanging by stairs, but carrying someone up them?]

..I need the exercise anyway.

[Perspective is key, right?]

[bartenderizing]

[ Shizuo was suddenly getting a vision of the future, and it was of him carrying three people to the top instead of two. ]

... Well, it's your decision. I mean, I assume you know your limits.

[sing_for_me]

[Alex was actually trying to push her limits but he didn't need to know that.]

I'll..take breaks when I need to.

[The last thing she wanted was to give him extra work. Or to drop the guy she was holding up. She mentally psyched herself for the trip. She can do this.]

[bartenderizing]

[ Yeah, it's probably best that he didn't. Especially now that his non-moving arm's hand is finally moving again. At this point, he's just letting it rest.

Also, Shizuo probably isn't the one to give talks on knowing one's limits. ]

Okay. As long as you actually say when you need to.

[sing_for_me]

[Alex nods in agreement, following him towards the temple. ]

Do you know what happened to your friends exactly? Will they not wake up?

[bartenderizing]

No clue on the one I've got. Izumo, who you're carrying, rarely sleeps and lead an ablution recently. So he's probably exhausted.

[ Sorry man. Your sleeping habits are getting called out to everyone at this point. This is what happens when you're in a coma. ]

The one I've got is probably exhausted from destroying something again, knowing his history.

[sing_for_me]

[Wow, it sounded like they lived some healthy lifestyles.]

I guess if anything, they should be able to recover from that just fine.

[She adjust 'Izumo' a lttlle when she feels him slipping a bit.]

It's a good thing you found them though.

[bartenderizing]

[ Certainly healthy in some ways. ]

Ah, well... I didn't hear from Izumo for a while, so when I went there and saw an ayakashi over the temple, something was obviously wrong. He's one of the more capable shinki if you need borderlines and ablutions done, so there not being any despite the ayakashi was a big sign.

[ The first set of stairs isn't steep, at the very least. They had the gentle slope before going up more directly at the second set. He'll be sure to keep an eye on Alex while they climbed though, ready to catch either her or his lookalike. ]

... Ah, but someone's probably handling those now. So you won't have to worry about that.

[sing_for_me]

[So far so good with those steps. It does take her a bit to figure out how to do it mor eefficiently since the guy's feet would keep knocking against the steps.]

Worry...about.. what?

[Alex looks back up at him when she gets over some steps.]

[bartenderizing]

The loose ayakashi at that temple?

[ If there were any around, that'd be a concern for anyone, right? Though his tone was probably a little too casual to match the potential danger- like he said, someone was handling it.

Yet he's also noticing the way Mikoto's feet were smacking into the stairs. Which he didn't care about so much, unless it started to trip the woman up. ]

... Don't feel obligated to carry him, even if you took it upon yourself.

[sing_for_me]

Oh!

[Right, that.]

I don't think I'd be much use with that anyway...

[Her shinki wasn't a weapon type vessel and her powers weren't offensive either, so Alex didn't have the confidence to fight off strong ayakashi.]

It's okay. I want to.

[bartenderizing]

Well, I don't think you have to be. Like I said, it should be fine by now, if not soon.

[ Given that it's being handled now. Whether the woman's powers and shinki were offensive or not, she was here instead of around the danger. Still, it's not like he could argue with her choices- Shizuo didn't have any place to. ]

Okay then. If that's what you really want...

/TAGS A DECADE LATER I'm sorry Ive been out of the country ;-;

[sing_for_me]

[That was a relief. It was even more motivation for her to do this, actually. If she can't fight off ayakashi, the least she can do is carry this guy somewhere safe.]

You're..quite strong.

[Alex noticed that he wasn't out of breath, and he was carrying both of them before she came alone. Was it strength or just a ridiculous amount of stamina? She could definitely use some of that for herself..]

THAT'S FINE- I had a convention not long after that tag

[bartenderizing]

[ Shizuo swallowed the impulse to argue against that- Something he normally did. Yet people have been saying it more and more often, and it just turned into something he felt bad for contesting. It really was a bad an unfair habit to dismiss someone's thoughts on that. ]

Ah, thanks... It's just something I happen to have.

I HOPE IT WAS FUN

[sing_for_me]

[It was interesting since he didn't look particularly strong. Guess that's what they mean by judging a book.]

Oh..I didn't get your name. I'm Alex.

[Which was funny considering she knew the names of the unconscious ones.]

IT WAS DEFINITELY BUSY /staff

[bartenderizing]

[ He didn't look like a lot of things that were true about himself. Like how much it really took for his shoulder to be in the condition that it was. ]

Shizuo.

[ Oh hey, they were reaching the end of the first set of stairs that got them just above the 'village' kind of area. Shizuo doesn't seem to be anywhere near winded. Then again, he was probably used to the climb. ]

You wanna take a bit of a break before we get to the steeper part?

OH MAN That mustve been tough

[sing_for_me]

[Oh thank god. She felt bad if she had to say it, but Shizuo suggesting a break was a godsend. Alex nodded at him sheepishly, admitting to needing one.]

Yes, please...

[She wondered if she was that out of shape, since he didn't look like he needed to catch his breath at all. Maybe having to go up and down these stairs all the time helped.]

Sorry, I'm slowing you down...

nah not so much! we've got good support

[bartenderizing]

[ Someday, Alex might realize that it was healthier to never compare oneself to how Shizuo was physically handling an ordeal. Especially when he couldn't feel if he actually needed a break or not. ]

Don't worry about that so much. It's not like they're gonna wake up any faster by getting them up all these stairs right away.

[ He'll go over to open one of the houses that was just off the path. It's fine- everyone that's supposed to live here is up in the main area. ]

There's water access in these if you also wanna get out of the sun and have something to drink.

that's good!

[sing_for_me]

That's true.

[She chuckled at that. It definitely didn't seem like he was in a rush to get there.]

Eh--is that okay? Won't the people living there mind?