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tampered2006-09-10 07:27 pm
violentflutist.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2006-09-10 07:27 pm
Log; Complete
When; Wednesday, Sept. 6th
Rating; PG
Characters; Tayuya {![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
violentflutist}, Kabuto {snake_servant}, and Shizune {medic_assistant}
Summary; Tayuya takes Kabuto and Shizune out to dinner to prove herself after betting Kabuto she could be a proper feminine girl in a week's time.
Log;
Tayuya kept an amiable smile on her face, idly running a hand over her hair and checking to make sure it was still in place before checking her the paint on her nails as well. It was three minutes to seven, she'd made sure to be on time, and she had a booth at the Cafe reserved. She'd made sure it was in good view of the entrance so Kabuto and Shizune wouldn't have trouble finding it. This, she thought, will be good. Kabuto would be picking his jaw off the floor by the end of the night if she had anything to do with it.
Kabuto was forced to dress nicely, well nicer than usual, for this dinner. One that he did not want to go to. In fact, he was still protesting now. “This is a bad idea, she’ll have something planned. I suggest checking everything for poison, including the silverware.” He was lagging behind, dragging his feet in a childlike manner. So maybe he had been over exaggerating about the end of the universe, but it might as well be the first sign of the apocalypse.
Shizune rolled her eyes, falling back to grab Kabuto by the arm in order to speed up his pace. "Kabuto, honestly, I'll check for poison and all, but I doubt she can pull something off in the middle of the cafe alone." She did have bad memories of Genma and Raidou's broken bodies after tangling with the Sound Four, but that had been all of them. One she'd be able to handle, even on her own.
“I don’t trust her. She’s always hated those she’s served under with exception for one.” He was avoiding saying Orochimaru’s name for the problems the simple word brought up. “She has something planned.” It was as simple as that. “If she jumps across the table, fork in hand, aimed for someone’s eyes it won’t be because I didn’t warn you. That woman doesn’t know the meaning of manners, or getting along with someone.” Still, he let himself be dragged along, content for the moment. He enjoyed spending time with Shizune, but it would only be for a short while as the café was coming into view.
"I realize it's potentially dangerous, but just think, what if she pulled it off?" She shrugged. "It could be... funny?" She didn't want to admit that she had accepted the invitation for him because she sort of wanted to find out how he would react around his... fellow servants of Orochimaru. His... confession had caught her off-guard in the worst way, and she wanted to continue in the same manner as usual, but... she needed to know more, see more, before she could face her own feelings. "Besides, I'll hamstring her if she tries anything." She winced a little. It was the first thing that she'd thought of, but only because the man beside her had done the same to her before.
Kabuto was still dragging his feet a little, but it was more difficult when being dragged along. “It’s just the first sign of the apocalypse, one of the seven seals if you will. Just because the universe isn’t imploding tonight, it won’t be much longer.” He stated his earlier thought.
He let out a sigh, no one believed him, but when they were all dead he wouldn’t be to blame, he had warned them all, multiple times, and it was getting repetitive. Let them all suffer. “Now we’re even, by the way.”
"We're even?" Shizune blinked. "For what?" She let the continuing doom comments go. He was being a bit childish, but she figured he might be... all matured-out, so to speak. A lot of... serious things had happened between them lately, so she allowed him a bit of immaturity.
“For when I dragged you to that party.” He mumbled. “When you first got here. Zack san threw it.” He had dragged her to that to mess with her, at the time, now he sort of felt guilty about it, well not after this he didn’t. But he had. “We are even.”
"Fine then. Even." She remembered that now. She'd been rather miffed, but... had enjoyed an okay time. She finally managed to get him to the doors of the Cafe and opened them, shooing him in. "Now, be on your best behavior, alright?"
Tayuya smiled even wider at the appearance in the door of Shizune, followed by Kabuto. She tried not to let it turn into a smirk when she saw them arm in arm. She'd been right then. They were fucking. It was good she only had to be a lady on the outside. She stood, waiting for them to approach, making sure to adjust her clothes. The black dress pants, black and pink top, with the clingy jacket over it. As suggested by Mad Hatter she had her hair done up in a loose style, one she rather liked, actually.
Kabuto spotted the monster in ladies clothing, he refused to believe she was actually a lady, he had known her far too long for that, and dug in his heels. He wouldn’t get any closer to that if he could help it, completely forgetting that right now he couldn’t help it. He was going to have to sit across from it, and converse with it, and dine with it…. He’d rather be dissecting himself right now.
Shizune rolled her eyes, tightening her grip on the younger man and jerking him forward. This was absolutely childish. Where the serious man from last night had gone she didn't know. He was blowing this way out of proportions. She dragged him towards Tayuya, who, she had to admit, looked a lot better than she usually did. "Tayuya... it's a pleasure." She said with a smile, though, in truth, she held no good will for the girl, probably as much as Tayuya did for herself.
Tayuya smiled, nodding quickly, one hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from her face and tuck it back behind her ear. "The same, Shizune. You look well." She turned her gaze to Kabuto. "The same, Kabuto. How are you?"
Kabuto glared over Shizune’s shoulder, keeping as much distance between him and it as he could. “I’ve been fine.” He sounded a little terse but it was better than what he could have said. It was an odd reversal of things, usually she was hiding from him or at least avoiding him at all costs, now it was just the opposite.
"Oh, that's good to hear." She was well aware of the role reversal. She was usually the one keeping her tail between her legs around Kabuto, quite afraid of the man, though not as afraid of him as she should be, she always thought. She liked this turn around, and would enjoy it for the day, while she could. Looking back at the both of them she smiled a bit broader. "And I just want to say, you two make such a cute couple. Really." Oh, this was too fun.
“We are not… that is… we aren’t a couple.” Kabuto felt his cheeks heating, as much as he wished the statement was true. They weren’t, Shizune had rejected him, they were just friends, roommates, and that was it. “Let’s just get this over with.” The last part was said under his breath.
Shizune had opened her mouth to protest the comment as well, but stopped when Kabuto did it himself. She instead tried to keep the smile on her face form slipping. "However, it's very sweet of you to think such a thing, Tayuya. Thank you."
Tayuya cocked her head to the side, still smiling. "Oh, well, my mistake, forgive me." She clapped her hands together with a small, girlish laugh. "You two just looked so good together." She would definitely rub that in. Oh yes. Albeit in a feminine manner. She motioned to the booth behind her. "Please, have a seat."
Kabuto glanced at the booth, probably chosen to make it harder to escape. Shizune had probably thought the same thing on seeing it. “Would you like to sit on the inside or the outside?” He asked, innocently enough, but he would give her the outside if she wanted it, easier to get out and fight if the necessity arose.
"You can have outside, Kabuto." Shizune knew what he was thinking, but decided not to let herself think the same. She'd go into this with... a positive attitude, yes. That would be good. Yes. She smiled at Tayuya, hoping her mouth wouldn't be sore after this. "And Tayuya, might I add, you look lovely."
"Why thank you." Tayuya slid into the booth side across from the two and laughed a bit. "It was a bit more hassle than I'm used to, you understand, but I hoped it had come out well." She smiled. "What do you think, Kabuto? Not too much pink, I hope?"
Kabuto grimaced, but nodded as if to say she looked nice. “I’m not very fond of pink, but you look nice.” Good thing he was so skilled at lying, he had been doing it his entire life, and would probably end up lying his way through the evening. He waited for Shizune to seat herself, before he sat down, discreetly checking his utensils… and the napkin… for poison.
Shizune was doing the same, her eyes subtly scanning the metal for poisons of any kind. Nothing. She heaved a mental sigh of relief, not wanting Kabuto to have been proven correct in his paranoia on this particular topic.
Tayuya smiled, ducking her head. "Thank you." She murmured, doing her best to look sweet and humble. Quite a stretch for her. With an innocent smile she picked up the menu, opening it and scanning the items. "Now, don't be afraid to order whatever you want, it's my treat~"
Kabuto only glanced at the menu, already deciding to get what he had had the last time he ate here. He would be checking it for poison too, just in case. “Why did you do this?” He knew it was rude to ask, but this was supposedly Tayuya, so rude didn’t matter.
“I still think Sasuke looks better.” It was said low, covered by the menu he was still holding up, so she wouldn’t be able to see it. He didn’t particularly think Sasuke was good looking, he just didn’t want to admit anything about Tayuya. To avoid saying something that would start a fight, with either of the women he was dining with, he waved over a waitress. “Excuse me miss, could I get a glass of tea?”
Shizune arched an eyebrow. She'd heard that, and she noticed Tayuya had heard something, but since the other woman didn't say anything she'd hoped the girl had let it go, which was more than she could say for the man at her right. When the waitress came over she added her own drink request. "Could I get the same?"
"And a bubble tea, if you would." Tayuya added, still perusing the menu as the waitress walked away with the order for drinks. "Now," She finally decided what she wanted and set her menu down. "How are you two getting along? Sharing an apartment and all?" She smiled, just a pleasant conversationalist.
“We are getting along fine. How are you and your roommates getting along?” Kabuto knew that Tayuya loathed her current living situation. Kimimaro and Orochimaru, he was willing to bet that if she wasn’t dead she’d kill herself. Orochimaru she at least had some loyalty to. Kimimaro on the other hand, she feared him, and hated him. Kimimaro had probably cowed Tayuya into living in the same apartment if anything.
Tayuya should have known he'd turn that question back on her. He was too good at what he did. Lies. Manipulation. Word Play. But she was playing ball with the big boys, so to speak, and she'd have to keep up. Good thing she'd taken some lessons from one Draco Malfoy. "Oh, you know how it is, living with two males." She made a gesture with her hand, one uninterruptible. She glanced at Shizune. "I'm sure you know how it is, being the only woman around, hmm?"
Shizune gave a bit of a nervous laugh. "Ah, well, Kabuto does all the cooking, and Serph is a very clean person, so I'm not sure I do." She browsed the menu, wanting something different this time. "But, I know what you're implying it's like." She glanced over to Kabuto. "I think it's fair to ask Kabuto in return how he feels living with a female?" She was fishing for feelings now.
Kabuto felt a little awkward at the turn in the conversation, but he kept it from showing as best he could, seeing as he was still a little off balance with things around Shizune. “It’s much preferable to living with a bunch of males. Shizune san is a better conversationalist for one thing, and is very considerate. I would have starved to death when I had that cold if not for her.” He put on a pleasant smile, he wasn’t going to mention personal matters around Tayuya; for one thing, the woman didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut about anything.
"Oh, how nice." Tayuya grinned and leaned back a little when the waitress returned with their drinks, setting them down in front of them. She took a small sip from her bubble tea and placed her food order, handing the woman the menu when she had finished. "It's good to see you two get along so well. Very cute."
"Why thank you, Tayuya." Shizune quickly replied before Kabuto could. "I think so too." She threw that in, not looking to her right. At the waitress's urging she placed her order as well, handing over the menu as well.
Kabuto placed his order, and handed over the menu, using it as a cover for another poison check. He decided to bring up the womanizer who had set his sights on Tayuya. “How are you and Greed san getting along; you seem to spend quite a bit of time in his company. I hear he even took you shopping.” If she was going to try and tease, something she had never been too good at on the more subtle levels, then he would get her right back. “He seems to enjoy your company quite a bit from what I understand.”
"It would appear he does, yes." Tayuya should have known he would do that too. She put a finger to her lips as if thinking hard for a moment. "He was very good at picking out clothes, that surprised me." She smiled, not just for appearances. She had had a bit of fun. "I should hope he enjoys my company, since I wouldn't want to be around someone who didn't."
“I think he would enjoy your company a lot more if…” He trailed off, not saying anything, but giving Tayuya a look that let her know exactly what he meant. That was a subject that Tayuya loved to tease about, but didn’t particularly like to be teased about herself. She was an odd woman, but at least she could dish it out and take it.
Ooh, but she did catch that. Such a nice turn-around. Her first thought of a response was not very ladylike, as it involved the word 'fucking', and neither was the second or third thought. But she finally came up with a safe response. "If I were a little more loose with my person?" She finished his sentence with a smile. "Yes, I'm sure he would." She answered it too, turning to Shizune. "I think most men are like that, don't you, Shizune?"
Shizune had been trying valiantly to avoid looking at Kabuto during all the most probing questions, not wanting to give away anything that could be flagged, but she couldn't help a quick glance at the comment before wrenching her eyes back to Tayuya. "Ah, well..." She stumbled, looking for an answer. "Um... not really?"
“Tayuya san, just because that’s what men who are interested in you want, that’s not what we all want. Still I think you and Greed san look “cute” together.” He threw her own word back into her face. His smile pleasant, he continued. “As for being “loose with your person”, that’s not at all what I meant, it takes more than once to be considered as such.”
Resolved not to be ruffled, Tayuya smiled. "It's just an acute observation of mine, Kabuto." She threw a glance to the woman across the table. "Just an observation." She leaned back a little, crossing her legs. "However, if I'm wrong, maybe it's just me. That would make it just my luck that I attract such men." She gave a sigh. "But I'll be alright, I suppose." At the toss back of her own word she laughed a little. "Why thank you, I'm sure he'd be pleased to hear that." Well, she wasn't sure. Being this nice and girly was damn hard.
“Perhaps you should go to dinner with him, before you revert back.” There was no doubt in Kabuto’s mind that Tayuya would revert back, she couldn’t keep this up for long. She was probably straining with it even now. If he tried hard enough, he could possibly get her to slip. “That is if you can keep this up for another day, you never had much patience or endurance for feminine things. Then again, it may be your rough, and wholly unfeminine personality that Greed san is attracted to. If that’s the case, you are very lucky to have found someone like him.”
She dearly hoped that wasn't a twitch developing at the corner of her mouth. She clasped her hands in her lap to keep them from tapping the edge of the table, smiling still. "Why, Kabuto, I'm sorely wounded." She took a sip of her drink, taking her time. "Life changes do take so much time, you know." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "And if Greed is attracted to me, why should I bother asking why? If he is attracted to me, which I couldn't attest to myself, I should just take his attentions at their value, yes?" She slid a glance at Shizune. "Without questioning them?"
Shizune busied herself taking a sip from her tea, not saying a word.
“He may be your only chance. You are a very unique person, and not everyone can understand that.” Kabuto kept his grin from turning into a malicious one, looking into Tayuya’s eyes, he could see that she was trying to keep her control, and she was doing an admittedly good job so far. He did see what she was trying to do though, the way she kept looking at Shizune when she said certain things. Too bad he was much better at warring with words. “You should consider the way he acts towards you very carefully, and what he says. He may be a little rough with words, something you’re used to I’m sure, but it’s the meaning that’s important.”
"How true." Tayuya conceded. "I'll take that advice to heart." She looked upwards for a moment, eyeing the lamp abouve their heads. "The meaning?" She drew her gaze back across the table and met Kabuto's eyes, something she rarely did, out of fear. "Tell me, do you have any more advice? I'm just not sure how to properly go about this, and you seem to know more than me." Maybe that could get him talking more on the subject.
“Hmm…” Kabuto made a thinking noise. Where was she taking this, she never asked for advice. If you tried to help or correct her it was “shut the fuck up”. “Well, first off, how do you feel about him. You seem to like him quite a bit from what I’ve seen, but if you are unsure how about you spend more time with him. Oh, I know! I’ll set you two up on a date!”
"Why, I just don't know." Tayuya ducked her head a little, acting embarressed to hide her anger at conceding, even in acting, that she was wrong. "I can't say I have any experience in the matter, and I'm just not sure how I feel." She willed a blush to her cheeks. Oh, that would throw him. Looking up through her eyelashes she murmued, "Would you?"
“I.. uhh..” Fuck This wasn’t supposed to happen; when had she gotten so good at acting? To hide his own blush, he adjusted his glasses. “We are discussing you and Greed san right now, not my personal life. After all, this entire evening is about you; is it not?”
Ooh, that made the whole night worth it, that right there. Tayuya lowered her eyes in mock embarrassment, letting the blush continue. "So sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life." That grated. "I just figured you might know, since you and Shizune..." She trailed off, as if she'd said too much. Which... she had, albeit on purpose.
Shizune had been listening intently to the conversation, knowing that this was far more than pleasant conversation, and had far more deadly consequences. She had refrained from commenting, however, until now. "Tayuya..." She murmured. "Kabuto and I...?" She gestured for the other girl to finish her sentence.
Tayuya blushed more profusely, extremely glad that she'd practiced that. "I..." She stammered, twiddling her index fingers together. "I was under the impression that you two were..." More finger twiddling. "... you know..."
Shizune blinked.
Kabuto glared at Tayuya, they were going to have another talk about what was appropriate to say when in Shizune’s company. He opened his mouth to say something, but then their food arrived. “Oh, it’s time to eat.”
Fuck. Tayuya cursed the timing in her mind, instead putting on a face that said she was glad to have avoided embarrassment at such a thought. And she'd almost had him too. She smiled and thanked the waitress, grabbing her fork and looking at the food. "It all looks good, hmm?"
“It is very good, should I tell Greed san to meet you here for your date? Or is there somewhere else you would like to go instead? How about a homemade meal, I’ll even volunteer to cook for you.” Kabuto’s smile returned, as he reminded her of what she had agreed to.
"Anywhere is fine, really." She murmured, blowing softly on the steam in her food to cool it. "Thank you so much for being so kind." She didn't mind spending time with Greed. He was fun to her, and good company. Being teased, she could take, especially for now.
Kabuto nodded, and not so discreetly this time, checked his food for poison. Seeing as it was clear, he began to eat. The food, as per usual, was delicious. He really did like this café, too bad he had to be here under such undesirable circumstances. He was almost surprised the world hadn’t ended yet, he’d give it a few more minutes.
Shizune had checked her food for poison as well, despite the feeling that this was more about Tayuya's pride than anything else. The girl had a great deal of it. "So, Tayuya..." She began, twirling her potatoes around her fork. "How does it feel? Being feminine and all?"
Tayuya smiled a little, making sure to swallow her food before answering. "It feels... very strange, you can imagine. I'm not used to this." She resisted the urge to gesture with her fork. "It's sort of like... if I asked you to act manly and sailor-like." She smiled as if the very thought was amusing and absurd. "I think Kabuto would be distraught."
Kabuto almost choked on his food, but managed not to. “It wouldn’t be very fitting to someone like her.” He didn’t add “just like this isn’t fitting to you”. “But, whatever decisions she makes, I will accept.” That really had to meanings, one pertaining to the current situation one to another between him and Shizune specifically. The inflection in his voice would make it obvious to Shizune at least, but not overly blatant. “You can’t force things on a person, or yourself… Like, you must be having a very difficult time with all of this.” He did gesture with his fork, not something he often did, but knew Tayuya had a habit of.
Shizune gave a small smile, very quiet, but didn't speak for the moment.
Tayuya was rather miffed at this mimicry of her usual eating habits. She tried to avoid looking at his fork. Denying it was hard would only egg him on, so, as much as it hurt, she ducked her head. "It... it is difficult for me." She admitted, loathe to do so, which only inflected well on her image she was trying to create. "But, I am learning a lot."
Kabuto sighed. “Yes, but how long will you retain it? Until we leave the restaurant? That would be a shame.” He continued gesturing with his fork, even when it had food on it. “I don’t want to put you through too much stress, so feel free to go back to your… usual self?”
Tayuya busied herself with her meal, stopping and swallowing before speaking again. "I'll finish a total twenty four hours, Kabuto." She smiled. "I told you I could do it for a day, and I will." She resisted the urge to reach out, grab the fork out of his hand and stab it into his hand. "But you never know. Maybe I like doing this? Maybe I'll never return to the way I was." She threw that out there. "Of course, I can't do this forever, but maybe when I go back to myself I'll be a little more polite?"
Kabuto right out laughed at that, mostly to piss Tayuya off. “I doubt that, but it’s a nice thought.” He would start throwing in curse words if he had to, he was going to get her to break. He made a sweeping gesture with his fork, laden with food. “This alone is probably pushing it.”
Tayuya refused to break. She couldn't, not after getting this far. She grit her teeth under the cover of eating her food, his laugh grating down her spine. She didn't answer yet, continuing to eat. After a minute or so she finished with her plate, having only ordered a light meal. "It is... difficult, yes. But nothing I can't handle, I assure you." Oh, but she was close.
Shizune was a little disconcerted to see how... different Kabuto was becoming. He was slowly growing more and more hostile, more and more... estranged from what she knew of him, and it scared her. She didn't say anything, not wanting to interfere, but she slowly reacher out under the table and lightly touched his knee, squeezing gently. She wanted to remind him she was there, remind him... well... she didn't quite know. But she didn't quite like where his personality was going.
Kabuto almost jumped at the light touch to his knee, but managed to keep himself under control. His smile softening, he turned to Shizune, acting as if nothing had happened. “This conversation must be boring you, you have hardly said a word.” He put his utensils down “accidentally” bumping his tea and sending the contents spilling over the small table at Tayuya. “Oh! I’m so sorry!”
"Oh, no, it's fin-" Her eyes widened as she saw him going for the table, saw him bump his tea. She closed her mouth smartly, picking up her napkin in preparation, shooting Kabuto a glance she wasn't sure was a glare or a look of mild disappointment.
Tayuya didn't move, only watched the tea heading towards her, ending up over her lap and legs, still steadily dripping from the edge of the table onto her in a slow drip-drip. She frowned, biting her bottom lip for a moment, looking as if she was about to cry. She wasn't... of course not, but she was rather upset. She opened her mouth and let out a small sigh, slipping out of the booth and setting her sopping wet napkin on the table edge. "If you'll excuse me for a moment... I need to use the restroom."
Kabuto frowned at Tayuya’s retreating back, he had been sure that would get her. She would probably curse up a storm in the bathroom, but it didn’t count if she wasn’t there in front of them. He took his napkin and began cleaning up the mess he had made.
"... Kabuto..." Shizune murmured, picking up her napkin and assisting, mopping up the tea.
“Yes?” Kabuto suddenly felt like he was in trouble, not life threatening, but more along the lines of a scolding… he had been acting rather childish, but Tayuya had brought it on herself.
"... must you?" She felt... almost bad for the girl now. She had been trying hard, that at least was apparent, as it seemed proving herself and keeping her pride was very important to her. She hated to think she was sympathizing with her... but perhaps she was.
“This is Tayuya, I’m doing what is necessary to end this charade.” Kabuto tossed his napkin onto his plate, and picked up a clean one. “I understand if you don’t approve, but this I know this woman better than almost anyone else in the City, and I know what I am doing. I’m sorry.”
Tayuya had broken the stall of one of the women's toilets. "Goddamn son of a bitch!" She whispered furiously, wringing her pants out over the sink as she sat on the counter. She knew what he was doing, acting all innocent and shit when he was doing this. He just couldn't accept that he was going to lose. She'd hang on to this if it killed her. What had started out as a small challenge had snowballed into something more important. This was proving something now. She managed to get most of the wetness out of her clothes and stood, primping in front of the mirror for a moment before preparing to return to the table.
Kabuto sighed, he did look rather bad, but there was more to this than what had happened. Sure he was being childish, but it wouldn’t have gone this far had Tayuya not ignored his warning. “I’ll go see how she’s doing…” He excused himself from the table, and went back in the direction of the restrooms.
Shizune almost stopped him, almost reached out her hand and grabbed him by the shirt and told him to sit his ass back down and behave. But she didn't.
Tayuya finally approved herself, brushing a bit of ice off her pants before opening the door and preparing to step out of the restroom.
“Tayuya.” Kabuto said, as he saw the woman in the door to the restroom. Checking to make sure that no one else was looking he dragged the woman back inside and locked the door behind them, thankful for his ninja skills. His face was no longer sporting the smile from earlier, the game was over. “We seem to have a bit of a problem.”
Tayuya instinctively didn't fight back, something ingrained in her from years of Orochimaru's service. But when he locked the door behind him she broke from his grip and stood rigid, trying not to glare. "What is it?" She asked, knowing all to well what it is. It had three syllables, and started with a T.
“I believe we had a discussion some time ago about what you say in certain company.” It wasn’t a question. This had gone beyond just her trying to prove him wrong, it was about her disobeying orders. His taunting had started to evolve into something cruel when she had crossed that line he had drawn for her. He would not apologize for his actions, just as he knew she would not do the same, but there was always the simple understanding of “behave and it stops”. “You remember it I’m sure.”
"Of course I remember." She hopped back up to sitting on the counter top, slowly swinging her legs to calm her mood. "However, those circumstances involved me calling Shizune a rather bad word." She smiled a bit, the extent of her current bravery. "I have been extremely sweet and polite tonight, despite your attempts to... cause a ruckus." She looked pointedly down at her tea-stained pants.
“You know that is not all it entailed.” Kabuto narrowed his eyes at Tayuya. Death had made her too bold. Where he didn’t care what she did with her afterlife for the most part, some things would not be tolerated. “Anything you say to make her uncomfortable, drive her away, or anything of the like was included in that. And tonight, you seem dead set on saying anything and everything you can to make either of us uncomfortable. If it were only me, I would not have a problem, but you were warned.” He paused, making sure his temper stayed under control. “What do I need to do to get a simple order through to you?”
Tayuya looked up to the ceiling, listening, however. She didn't know why he was so... protective of that woman. It was definitely not like Kabuto, and it was damn weird. Damn weird. She'd never seen him defend anyone, like, really defend them, honor and all that, except Orochimaru. And Shizune was nothing like Orochimaru. She let her eyes roam back to Kabuto, trying not to smile at the thought. "Answer me one question and I'll listen more carefully."
“What?” Kabuto demanded, his patience thin.
She swung her legs over the counter, back and forth, back and forth. "It's been killing me. I want to know." She was trying in vain to keep a smirk of her painted lips. "Are you and her..." She barely avoided the word 'fucking'. "... having sex?"
“No.” The answer was straightforward, and completely honest. “Now that the perverted side of your mind had been satisfied. I will give you one more warning. Watch your tongue.” Kabuto smirked a little then, not like his earlier on, this one cold. “You behave yourself, and we can call it a truce. I can even tell everyone how beautiful you looked tonight, if you want.”
Tayuya looked him up and down. She thought he was lying, but decided to let it go, if, for her own safety, if not anything else. "Fine." She hopped off the counter, pointing at the locked door. "Want me to give you a moment so you won't look like a weirdo following coming out of the restroom with me?"
Kabuto nodded, and stepped aside after considering if Tayuya had gotten the message.
Tayuya unlocked the restroom door and stepped out, back into the restroom. She made her way back to the booth and set down again, putting a fresh napkin over her lap. "Kabuto decided he was going to use the restroom too." She mentioned with a smile. "And, Shizune, I'm terribly sorry if I said anything tonight that might have offended you. I didn't mean to mistake you two for anything you aren't."
Shizune was a bit relieved to see Tayuya come back unharmed, as much as she never thought she'd think such things. Because if she hadn't, it would have meant Kabuto had hurt her. But she was just as disappointed when she apologized, because it meant he'd done a little bit more than check up on her. "Ah, no... it's fine..." She quickly replied, throwing a glance over her shoulder towards the restrooms.
Kabuto was only a few seconds behind Tayuya, and took his seat in the booth, once more all smiles. “Sorry for the wait.” He examined the table. Everyone was pretty much done with their food. “Shall we ask for the check then?”
"Ah, yes, let me get that." Tayuya waved down a waitress, asking for the bill. As the woman hurried off she smiled. "I do hope you enjoyed your dinner."
“It was lovely, though I’m sorry things didn’t progress in the smoothest of ways.” Kabuto was suddenly back to his all manners self. “But you managed to prove you can be feminine.” To an extent, she had tried, but he knew her well enough to see much of her usual personality showing through, which really was what had caused several of the problems in his point of view.
"I'm glad you came to that conclusion, Kabuto." Tayuya smiled. This was becoming even more obscenely difficult. She picked up the check from the waitress' hands, scanning the bill before coming up with enough to pay for it (she'd stolen it the day before). With a smile she stood. "Shall we go, then?”
Kabuto stood once more, offering his hand to help Shizune up, he didn’t bother sending a warning look at Tayuya, she shouldn’t need a reminder so soon.
He turned to Tayuya. “Thank you for the dinner. I believe I said I would return the favor. I’m thinking home cooked food would be the better option.” A bit of a jab, but mostly unintentional, she had agreed to being set up on a date after all.
Shizune took the offered hand and stood, letting go when she had edge out of the booth. "Yes, thank you, Tayuya. You look very nice, really."
Tayuya smiled. At least Kabuto's woman appreciated it. She sent a bit of an icy smile Kabuto's way. "How about I talk to Greed, and then let you know about plans?" She asked. "He might not even want to go."
Standing slightly behind Shizune, he gave Tayuya a warning look. He knew that Orochimaru had spoken to her about what she was allowed to say, but that didn’t mean she had taken the talk to heart yet. She was a little slow to learn some things. “I’ve been meaning to speak to him, myself, so I’ll talk to him about it.” He plastered his smile back on, his tone of voice filled with nothing but excitement over the upcoming date. “After that we can figure out when. I did say I would set it up.”
Tayuya could have kicked the table. "Alright, then." She smiled. "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you."
Shizune noted a bit of silence and pushed Kabuto a bit by the shoulders. "Well, we'll be going then, Tayuya, thank you for a lovely evening."
Tayuya smiled and waved the two off before pelting up to the rooftops to get back to her place. She waited until she'd locked the door behind her before picking up the first thing she laid hands on, a chair, and slamming it across the room. "SON OF A BITCH!!"
Rating; PG
Characters; Tayuya {
violentflutist}, Kabuto {snake_servant}, and Shizune {medic_assistant} Summary; Tayuya takes Kabuto and Shizune out to dinner to prove herself after betting Kabuto she could be a proper feminine girl in a week's time.
Log;
Tayuya kept an amiable smile on her face, idly running a hand over her hair and checking to make sure it was still in place before checking her the paint on her nails as well. It was three minutes to seven, she'd made sure to be on time, and she had a booth at the Cafe reserved. She'd made sure it was in good view of the entrance so Kabuto and Shizune wouldn't have trouble finding it. This, she thought, will be good. Kabuto would be picking his jaw off the floor by the end of the night if she had anything to do with it.
Kabuto was forced to dress nicely, well nicer than usual, for this dinner. One that he did not want to go to. In fact, he was still protesting now. “This is a bad idea, she’ll have something planned. I suggest checking everything for poison, including the silverware.” He was lagging behind, dragging his feet in a childlike manner. So maybe he had been over exaggerating about the end of the universe, but it might as well be the first sign of the apocalypse.
Shizune rolled her eyes, falling back to grab Kabuto by the arm in order to speed up his pace. "Kabuto, honestly, I'll check for poison and all, but I doubt she can pull something off in the middle of the cafe alone." She did have bad memories of Genma and Raidou's broken bodies after tangling with the Sound Four, but that had been all of them. One she'd be able to handle, even on her own.
“I don’t trust her. She’s always hated those she’s served under with exception for one.” He was avoiding saying Orochimaru’s name for the problems the simple word brought up. “She has something planned.” It was as simple as that. “If she jumps across the table, fork in hand, aimed for someone’s eyes it won’t be because I didn’t warn you. That woman doesn’t know the meaning of manners, or getting along with someone.” Still, he let himself be dragged along, content for the moment. He enjoyed spending time with Shizune, but it would only be for a short while as the café was coming into view.
"I realize it's potentially dangerous, but just think, what if she pulled it off?" She shrugged. "It could be... funny?" She didn't want to admit that she had accepted the invitation for him because she sort of wanted to find out how he would react around his... fellow servants of Orochimaru. His... confession had caught her off-guard in the worst way, and she wanted to continue in the same manner as usual, but... she needed to know more, see more, before she could face her own feelings. "Besides, I'll hamstring her if she tries anything." She winced a little. It was the first thing that she'd thought of, but only because the man beside her had done the same to her before.
Kabuto was still dragging his feet a little, but it was more difficult when being dragged along. “It’s just the first sign of the apocalypse, one of the seven seals if you will. Just because the universe isn’t imploding tonight, it won’t be much longer.” He stated his earlier thought.
He let out a sigh, no one believed him, but when they were all dead he wouldn’t be to blame, he had warned them all, multiple times, and it was getting repetitive. Let them all suffer. “Now we’re even, by the way.”
"We're even?" Shizune blinked. "For what?" She let the continuing doom comments go. He was being a bit childish, but she figured he might be... all matured-out, so to speak. A lot of... serious things had happened between them lately, so she allowed him a bit of immaturity.
“For when I dragged you to that party.” He mumbled. “When you first got here. Zack san threw it.” He had dragged her to that to mess with her, at the time, now he sort of felt guilty about it, well not after this he didn’t. But he had. “We are even.”
"Fine then. Even." She remembered that now. She'd been rather miffed, but... had enjoyed an okay time. She finally managed to get him to the doors of the Cafe and opened them, shooing him in. "Now, be on your best behavior, alright?"
Tayuya smiled even wider at the appearance in the door of Shizune, followed by Kabuto. She tried not to let it turn into a smirk when she saw them arm in arm. She'd been right then. They were fucking. It was good she only had to be a lady on the outside. She stood, waiting for them to approach, making sure to adjust her clothes. The black dress pants, black and pink top, with the clingy jacket over it. As suggested by Mad Hatter she had her hair done up in a loose style, one she rather liked, actually.
Kabuto spotted the monster in ladies clothing, he refused to believe she was actually a lady, he had known her far too long for that, and dug in his heels. He wouldn’t get any closer to that if he could help it, completely forgetting that right now he couldn’t help it. He was going to have to sit across from it, and converse with it, and dine with it…. He’d rather be dissecting himself right now.
Shizune rolled her eyes, tightening her grip on the younger man and jerking him forward. This was absolutely childish. Where the serious man from last night had gone she didn't know. He was blowing this way out of proportions. She dragged him towards Tayuya, who, she had to admit, looked a lot better than she usually did. "Tayuya... it's a pleasure." She said with a smile, though, in truth, she held no good will for the girl, probably as much as Tayuya did for herself.
Tayuya smiled, nodding quickly, one hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from her face and tuck it back behind her ear. "The same, Shizune. You look well." She turned her gaze to Kabuto. "The same, Kabuto. How are you?"
Kabuto glared over Shizune’s shoulder, keeping as much distance between him and it as he could. “I’ve been fine.” He sounded a little terse but it was better than what he could have said. It was an odd reversal of things, usually she was hiding from him or at least avoiding him at all costs, now it was just the opposite.
"Oh, that's good to hear." She was well aware of the role reversal. She was usually the one keeping her tail between her legs around Kabuto, quite afraid of the man, though not as afraid of him as she should be, she always thought. She liked this turn around, and would enjoy it for the day, while she could. Looking back at the both of them she smiled a bit broader. "And I just want to say, you two make such a cute couple. Really." Oh, this was too fun.
“We are not… that is… we aren’t a couple.” Kabuto felt his cheeks heating, as much as he wished the statement was true. They weren’t, Shizune had rejected him, they were just friends, roommates, and that was it. “Let’s just get this over with.” The last part was said under his breath.
Shizune had opened her mouth to protest the comment as well, but stopped when Kabuto did it himself. She instead tried to keep the smile on her face form slipping. "However, it's very sweet of you to think such a thing, Tayuya. Thank you."
Tayuya cocked her head to the side, still smiling. "Oh, well, my mistake, forgive me." She clapped her hands together with a small, girlish laugh. "You two just looked so good together." She would definitely rub that in. Oh yes. Albeit in a feminine manner. She motioned to the booth behind her. "Please, have a seat."
Kabuto glanced at the booth, probably chosen to make it harder to escape. Shizune had probably thought the same thing on seeing it. “Would you like to sit on the inside or the outside?” He asked, innocently enough, but he would give her the outside if she wanted it, easier to get out and fight if the necessity arose.
"You can have outside, Kabuto." Shizune knew what he was thinking, but decided not to let herself think the same. She'd go into this with... a positive attitude, yes. That would be good. Yes. She smiled at Tayuya, hoping her mouth wouldn't be sore after this. "And Tayuya, might I add, you look lovely."
"Why thank you." Tayuya slid into the booth side across from the two and laughed a bit. "It was a bit more hassle than I'm used to, you understand, but I hoped it had come out well." She smiled. "What do you think, Kabuto? Not too much pink, I hope?"
Kabuto grimaced, but nodded as if to say she looked nice. “I’m not very fond of pink, but you look nice.” Good thing he was so skilled at lying, he had been doing it his entire life, and would probably end up lying his way through the evening. He waited for Shizune to seat herself, before he sat down, discreetly checking his utensils… and the napkin… for poison.
Shizune was doing the same, her eyes subtly scanning the metal for poisons of any kind. Nothing. She heaved a mental sigh of relief, not wanting Kabuto to have been proven correct in his paranoia on this particular topic.
Tayuya smiled, ducking her head. "Thank you." She murmured, doing her best to look sweet and humble. Quite a stretch for her. With an innocent smile she picked up the menu, opening it and scanning the items. "Now, don't be afraid to order whatever you want, it's my treat~"
Kabuto only glanced at the menu, already deciding to get what he had had the last time he ate here. He would be checking it for poison too, just in case. “Why did you do this?” He knew it was rude to ask, but this was supposedly Tayuya, so rude didn’t matter.
“I still think Sasuke looks better.” It was said low, covered by the menu he was still holding up, so she wouldn’t be able to see it. He didn’t particularly think Sasuke was good looking, he just didn’t want to admit anything about Tayuya. To avoid saying something that would start a fight, with either of the women he was dining with, he waved over a waitress. “Excuse me miss, could I get a glass of tea?”
Shizune arched an eyebrow. She'd heard that, and she noticed Tayuya had heard something, but since the other woman didn't say anything she'd hoped the girl had let it go, which was more than she could say for the man at her right. When the waitress came over she added her own drink request. "Could I get the same?"
"And a bubble tea, if you would." Tayuya added, still perusing the menu as the waitress walked away with the order for drinks. "Now," She finally decided what she wanted and set her menu down. "How are you two getting along? Sharing an apartment and all?" She smiled, just a pleasant conversationalist.
“We are getting along fine. How are you and your roommates getting along?” Kabuto knew that Tayuya loathed her current living situation. Kimimaro and Orochimaru, he was willing to bet that if she wasn’t dead she’d kill herself. Orochimaru she at least had some loyalty to. Kimimaro on the other hand, she feared him, and hated him. Kimimaro had probably cowed Tayuya into living in the same apartment if anything.
Tayuya should have known he'd turn that question back on her. He was too good at what he did. Lies. Manipulation. Word Play. But she was playing ball with the big boys, so to speak, and she'd have to keep up. Good thing she'd taken some lessons from one Draco Malfoy. "Oh, you know how it is, living with two males." She made a gesture with her hand, one uninterruptible. She glanced at Shizune. "I'm sure you know how it is, being the only woman around, hmm?"
Shizune gave a bit of a nervous laugh. "Ah, well, Kabuto does all the cooking, and Serph is a very clean person, so I'm not sure I do." She browsed the menu, wanting something different this time. "But, I know what you're implying it's like." She glanced over to Kabuto. "I think it's fair to ask Kabuto in return how he feels living with a female?" She was fishing for feelings now.
Kabuto felt a little awkward at the turn in the conversation, but he kept it from showing as best he could, seeing as he was still a little off balance with things around Shizune. “It’s much preferable to living with a bunch of males. Shizune san is a better conversationalist for one thing, and is very considerate. I would have starved to death when I had that cold if not for her.” He put on a pleasant smile, he wasn’t going to mention personal matters around Tayuya; for one thing, the woman didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut about anything.
"Oh, how nice." Tayuya grinned and leaned back a little when the waitress returned with their drinks, setting them down in front of them. She took a small sip from her bubble tea and placed her food order, handing the woman the menu when she had finished. "It's good to see you two get along so well. Very cute."
"Why thank you, Tayuya." Shizune quickly replied before Kabuto could. "I think so too." She threw that in, not looking to her right. At the waitress's urging she placed her order as well, handing over the menu as well.
Kabuto placed his order, and handed over the menu, using it as a cover for another poison check. He decided to bring up the womanizer who had set his sights on Tayuya. “How are you and Greed san getting along; you seem to spend quite a bit of time in his company. I hear he even took you shopping.” If she was going to try and tease, something she had never been too good at on the more subtle levels, then he would get her right back. “He seems to enjoy your company quite a bit from what I understand.”
"It would appear he does, yes." Tayuya should have known he would do that too. She put a finger to her lips as if thinking hard for a moment. "He was very good at picking out clothes, that surprised me." She smiled, not just for appearances. She had had a bit of fun. "I should hope he enjoys my company, since I wouldn't want to be around someone who didn't."
“I think he would enjoy your company a lot more if…” He trailed off, not saying anything, but giving Tayuya a look that let her know exactly what he meant. That was a subject that Tayuya loved to tease about, but didn’t particularly like to be teased about herself. She was an odd woman, but at least she could dish it out and take it.
Ooh, but she did catch that. Such a nice turn-around. Her first thought of a response was not very ladylike, as it involved the word 'fucking', and neither was the second or third thought. But she finally came up with a safe response. "If I were a little more loose with my person?" She finished his sentence with a smile. "Yes, I'm sure he would." She answered it too, turning to Shizune. "I think most men are like that, don't you, Shizune?"
Shizune had been trying valiantly to avoid looking at Kabuto during all the most probing questions, not wanting to give away anything that could be flagged, but she couldn't help a quick glance at the comment before wrenching her eyes back to Tayuya. "Ah, well..." She stumbled, looking for an answer. "Um... not really?"
“Tayuya san, just because that’s what men who are interested in you want, that’s not what we all want. Still I think you and Greed san look “cute” together.” He threw her own word back into her face. His smile pleasant, he continued. “As for being “loose with your person”, that’s not at all what I meant, it takes more than once to be considered as such.”
Resolved not to be ruffled, Tayuya smiled. "It's just an acute observation of mine, Kabuto." She threw a glance to the woman across the table. "Just an observation." She leaned back a little, crossing her legs. "However, if I'm wrong, maybe it's just me. That would make it just my luck that I attract such men." She gave a sigh. "But I'll be alright, I suppose." At the toss back of her own word she laughed a little. "Why thank you, I'm sure he'd be pleased to hear that." Well, she wasn't sure. Being this nice and girly was damn hard.
“Perhaps you should go to dinner with him, before you revert back.” There was no doubt in Kabuto’s mind that Tayuya would revert back, she couldn’t keep this up for long. She was probably straining with it even now. If he tried hard enough, he could possibly get her to slip. “That is if you can keep this up for another day, you never had much patience or endurance for feminine things. Then again, it may be your rough, and wholly unfeminine personality that Greed san is attracted to. If that’s the case, you are very lucky to have found someone like him.”
She dearly hoped that wasn't a twitch developing at the corner of her mouth. She clasped her hands in her lap to keep them from tapping the edge of the table, smiling still. "Why, Kabuto, I'm sorely wounded." She took a sip of her drink, taking her time. "Life changes do take so much time, you know." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "And if Greed is attracted to me, why should I bother asking why? If he is attracted to me, which I couldn't attest to myself, I should just take his attentions at their value, yes?" She slid a glance at Shizune. "Without questioning them?"
Shizune busied herself taking a sip from her tea, not saying a word.
“He may be your only chance. You are a very unique person, and not everyone can understand that.” Kabuto kept his grin from turning into a malicious one, looking into Tayuya’s eyes, he could see that she was trying to keep her control, and she was doing an admittedly good job so far. He did see what she was trying to do though, the way she kept looking at Shizune when she said certain things. Too bad he was much better at warring with words. “You should consider the way he acts towards you very carefully, and what he says. He may be a little rough with words, something you’re used to I’m sure, but it’s the meaning that’s important.”
"How true." Tayuya conceded. "I'll take that advice to heart." She looked upwards for a moment, eyeing the lamp abouve their heads. "The meaning?" She drew her gaze back across the table and met Kabuto's eyes, something she rarely did, out of fear. "Tell me, do you have any more advice? I'm just not sure how to properly go about this, and you seem to know more than me." Maybe that could get him talking more on the subject.
“Hmm…” Kabuto made a thinking noise. Where was she taking this, she never asked for advice. If you tried to help or correct her it was “shut the fuck up”. “Well, first off, how do you feel about him. You seem to like him quite a bit from what I’ve seen, but if you are unsure how about you spend more time with him. Oh, I know! I’ll set you two up on a date!”
"Why, I just don't know." Tayuya ducked her head a little, acting embarressed to hide her anger at conceding, even in acting, that she was wrong. "I can't say I have any experience in the matter, and I'm just not sure how I feel." She willed a blush to her cheeks. Oh, that would throw him. Looking up through her eyelashes she murmued, "Would you?"
“I.. uhh..” Fuck This wasn’t supposed to happen; when had she gotten so good at acting? To hide his own blush, he adjusted his glasses. “We are discussing you and Greed san right now, not my personal life. After all, this entire evening is about you; is it not?”
Ooh, that made the whole night worth it, that right there. Tayuya lowered her eyes in mock embarrassment, letting the blush continue. "So sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life." That grated. "I just figured you might know, since you and Shizune..." She trailed off, as if she'd said too much. Which... she had, albeit on purpose.
Shizune had been listening intently to the conversation, knowing that this was far more than pleasant conversation, and had far more deadly consequences. She had refrained from commenting, however, until now. "Tayuya..." She murmured. "Kabuto and I...?" She gestured for the other girl to finish her sentence.
Tayuya blushed more profusely, extremely glad that she'd practiced that. "I..." She stammered, twiddling her index fingers together. "I was under the impression that you two were..." More finger twiddling. "... you know..."
Shizune blinked.
Kabuto glared at Tayuya, they were going to have another talk about what was appropriate to say when in Shizune’s company. He opened his mouth to say something, but then their food arrived. “Oh, it’s time to eat.”
Fuck. Tayuya cursed the timing in her mind, instead putting on a face that said she was glad to have avoided embarrassment at such a thought. And she'd almost had him too. She smiled and thanked the waitress, grabbing her fork and looking at the food. "It all looks good, hmm?"
“It is very good, should I tell Greed san to meet you here for your date? Or is there somewhere else you would like to go instead? How about a homemade meal, I’ll even volunteer to cook for you.” Kabuto’s smile returned, as he reminded her of what she had agreed to.
"Anywhere is fine, really." She murmured, blowing softly on the steam in her food to cool it. "Thank you so much for being so kind." She didn't mind spending time with Greed. He was fun to her, and good company. Being teased, she could take, especially for now.
Kabuto nodded, and not so discreetly this time, checked his food for poison. Seeing as it was clear, he began to eat. The food, as per usual, was delicious. He really did like this café, too bad he had to be here under such undesirable circumstances. He was almost surprised the world hadn’t ended yet, he’d give it a few more minutes.
Shizune had checked her food for poison as well, despite the feeling that this was more about Tayuya's pride than anything else. The girl had a great deal of it. "So, Tayuya..." She began, twirling her potatoes around her fork. "How does it feel? Being feminine and all?"
Tayuya smiled a little, making sure to swallow her food before answering. "It feels... very strange, you can imagine. I'm not used to this." She resisted the urge to gesture with her fork. "It's sort of like... if I asked you to act manly and sailor-like." She smiled as if the very thought was amusing and absurd. "I think Kabuto would be distraught."
Kabuto almost choked on his food, but managed not to. “It wouldn’t be very fitting to someone like her.” He didn’t add “just like this isn’t fitting to you”. “But, whatever decisions she makes, I will accept.” That really had to meanings, one pertaining to the current situation one to another between him and Shizune specifically. The inflection in his voice would make it obvious to Shizune at least, but not overly blatant. “You can’t force things on a person, or yourself… Like, you must be having a very difficult time with all of this.” He did gesture with his fork, not something he often did, but knew Tayuya had a habit of.
Shizune gave a small smile, very quiet, but didn't speak for the moment.
Tayuya was rather miffed at this mimicry of her usual eating habits. She tried to avoid looking at his fork. Denying it was hard would only egg him on, so, as much as it hurt, she ducked her head. "It... it is difficult for me." She admitted, loathe to do so, which only inflected well on her image she was trying to create. "But, I am learning a lot."
Kabuto sighed. “Yes, but how long will you retain it? Until we leave the restaurant? That would be a shame.” He continued gesturing with his fork, even when it had food on it. “I don’t want to put you through too much stress, so feel free to go back to your… usual self?”
Tayuya busied herself with her meal, stopping and swallowing before speaking again. "I'll finish a total twenty four hours, Kabuto." She smiled. "I told you I could do it for a day, and I will." She resisted the urge to reach out, grab the fork out of his hand and stab it into his hand. "But you never know. Maybe I like doing this? Maybe I'll never return to the way I was." She threw that out there. "Of course, I can't do this forever, but maybe when I go back to myself I'll be a little more polite?"
Kabuto right out laughed at that, mostly to piss Tayuya off. “I doubt that, but it’s a nice thought.” He would start throwing in curse words if he had to, he was going to get her to break. He made a sweeping gesture with his fork, laden with food. “This alone is probably pushing it.”
Tayuya refused to break. She couldn't, not after getting this far. She grit her teeth under the cover of eating her food, his laugh grating down her spine. She didn't answer yet, continuing to eat. After a minute or so she finished with her plate, having only ordered a light meal. "It is... difficult, yes. But nothing I can't handle, I assure you." Oh, but she was close.
Shizune was a little disconcerted to see how... different Kabuto was becoming. He was slowly growing more and more hostile, more and more... estranged from what she knew of him, and it scared her. She didn't say anything, not wanting to interfere, but she slowly reacher out under the table and lightly touched his knee, squeezing gently. She wanted to remind him she was there, remind him... well... she didn't quite know. But she didn't quite like where his personality was going.
Kabuto almost jumped at the light touch to his knee, but managed to keep himself under control. His smile softening, he turned to Shizune, acting as if nothing had happened. “This conversation must be boring you, you have hardly said a word.” He put his utensils down “accidentally” bumping his tea and sending the contents spilling over the small table at Tayuya. “Oh! I’m so sorry!”
"Oh, no, it's fin-" Her eyes widened as she saw him going for the table, saw him bump his tea. She closed her mouth smartly, picking up her napkin in preparation, shooting Kabuto a glance she wasn't sure was a glare or a look of mild disappointment.
Tayuya didn't move, only watched the tea heading towards her, ending up over her lap and legs, still steadily dripping from the edge of the table onto her in a slow drip-drip. She frowned, biting her bottom lip for a moment, looking as if she was about to cry. She wasn't... of course not, but she was rather upset. She opened her mouth and let out a small sigh, slipping out of the booth and setting her sopping wet napkin on the table edge. "If you'll excuse me for a moment... I need to use the restroom."
Kabuto frowned at Tayuya’s retreating back, he had been sure that would get her. She would probably curse up a storm in the bathroom, but it didn’t count if she wasn’t there in front of them. He took his napkin and began cleaning up the mess he had made.
"... Kabuto..." Shizune murmured, picking up her napkin and assisting, mopping up the tea.
“Yes?” Kabuto suddenly felt like he was in trouble, not life threatening, but more along the lines of a scolding… he had been acting rather childish, but Tayuya had brought it on herself.
"... must you?" She felt... almost bad for the girl now. She had been trying hard, that at least was apparent, as it seemed proving herself and keeping her pride was very important to her. She hated to think she was sympathizing with her... but perhaps she was.
“This is Tayuya, I’m doing what is necessary to end this charade.” Kabuto tossed his napkin onto his plate, and picked up a clean one. “I understand if you don’t approve, but this I know this woman better than almost anyone else in the City, and I know what I am doing. I’m sorry.”
Tayuya had broken the stall of one of the women's toilets. "Goddamn son of a bitch!" She whispered furiously, wringing her pants out over the sink as she sat on the counter. She knew what he was doing, acting all innocent and shit when he was doing this. He just couldn't accept that he was going to lose. She'd hang on to this if it killed her. What had started out as a small challenge had snowballed into something more important. This was proving something now. She managed to get most of the wetness out of her clothes and stood, primping in front of the mirror for a moment before preparing to return to the table.
Kabuto sighed, he did look rather bad, but there was more to this than what had happened. Sure he was being childish, but it wouldn’t have gone this far had Tayuya not ignored his warning. “I’ll go see how she’s doing…” He excused himself from the table, and went back in the direction of the restrooms.
Shizune almost stopped him, almost reached out her hand and grabbed him by the shirt and told him to sit his ass back down and behave. But she didn't.
Tayuya finally approved herself, brushing a bit of ice off her pants before opening the door and preparing to step out of the restroom.
“Tayuya.” Kabuto said, as he saw the woman in the door to the restroom. Checking to make sure that no one else was looking he dragged the woman back inside and locked the door behind them, thankful for his ninja skills. His face was no longer sporting the smile from earlier, the game was over. “We seem to have a bit of a problem.”
Tayuya instinctively didn't fight back, something ingrained in her from years of Orochimaru's service. But when he locked the door behind him she broke from his grip and stood rigid, trying not to glare. "What is it?" She asked, knowing all to well what it is. It had three syllables, and started with a T.
“I believe we had a discussion some time ago about what you say in certain company.” It wasn’t a question. This had gone beyond just her trying to prove him wrong, it was about her disobeying orders. His taunting had started to evolve into something cruel when she had crossed that line he had drawn for her. He would not apologize for his actions, just as he knew she would not do the same, but there was always the simple understanding of “behave and it stops”. “You remember it I’m sure.”
"Of course I remember." She hopped back up to sitting on the counter top, slowly swinging her legs to calm her mood. "However, those circumstances involved me calling Shizune a rather bad word." She smiled a bit, the extent of her current bravery. "I have been extremely sweet and polite tonight, despite your attempts to... cause a ruckus." She looked pointedly down at her tea-stained pants.
“You know that is not all it entailed.” Kabuto narrowed his eyes at Tayuya. Death had made her too bold. Where he didn’t care what she did with her afterlife for the most part, some things would not be tolerated. “Anything you say to make her uncomfortable, drive her away, or anything of the like was included in that. And tonight, you seem dead set on saying anything and everything you can to make either of us uncomfortable. If it were only me, I would not have a problem, but you were warned.” He paused, making sure his temper stayed under control. “What do I need to do to get a simple order through to you?”
Tayuya looked up to the ceiling, listening, however. She didn't know why he was so... protective of that woman. It was definitely not like Kabuto, and it was damn weird. Damn weird. She'd never seen him defend anyone, like, really defend them, honor and all that, except Orochimaru. And Shizune was nothing like Orochimaru. She let her eyes roam back to Kabuto, trying not to smile at the thought. "Answer me one question and I'll listen more carefully."
“What?” Kabuto demanded, his patience thin.
She swung her legs over the counter, back and forth, back and forth. "It's been killing me. I want to know." She was trying in vain to keep a smirk of her painted lips. "Are you and her..." She barely avoided the word 'fucking'. "... having sex?"
“No.” The answer was straightforward, and completely honest. “Now that the perverted side of your mind had been satisfied. I will give you one more warning. Watch your tongue.” Kabuto smirked a little then, not like his earlier on, this one cold. “You behave yourself, and we can call it a truce. I can even tell everyone how beautiful you looked tonight, if you want.”
Tayuya looked him up and down. She thought he was lying, but decided to let it go, if, for her own safety, if not anything else. "Fine." She hopped off the counter, pointing at the locked door. "Want me to give you a moment so you won't look like a weirdo following coming out of the restroom with me?"
Kabuto nodded, and stepped aside after considering if Tayuya had gotten the message.
Tayuya unlocked the restroom door and stepped out, back into the restroom. She made her way back to the booth and set down again, putting a fresh napkin over her lap. "Kabuto decided he was going to use the restroom too." She mentioned with a smile. "And, Shizune, I'm terribly sorry if I said anything tonight that might have offended you. I didn't mean to mistake you two for anything you aren't."
Shizune was a bit relieved to see Tayuya come back unharmed, as much as she never thought she'd think such things. Because if she hadn't, it would have meant Kabuto had hurt her. But she was just as disappointed when she apologized, because it meant he'd done a little bit more than check up on her. "Ah, no... it's fine..." She quickly replied, throwing a glance over her shoulder towards the restrooms.
Kabuto was only a few seconds behind Tayuya, and took his seat in the booth, once more all smiles. “Sorry for the wait.” He examined the table. Everyone was pretty much done with their food. “Shall we ask for the check then?”
"Ah, yes, let me get that." Tayuya waved down a waitress, asking for the bill. As the woman hurried off she smiled. "I do hope you enjoyed your dinner."
“It was lovely, though I’m sorry things didn’t progress in the smoothest of ways.” Kabuto was suddenly back to his all manners self. “But you managed to prove you can be feminine.” To an extent, she had tried, but he knew her well enough to see much of her usual personality showing through, which really was what had caused several of the problems in his point of view.
"I'm glad you came to that conclusion, Kabuto." Tayuya smiled. This was becoming even more obscenely difficult. She picked up the check from the waitress' hands, scanning the bill before coming up with enough to pay for it (she'd stolen it the day before). With a smile she stood. "Shall we go, then?”
Kabuto stood once more, offering his hand to help Shizune up, he didn’t bother sending a warning look at Tayuya, she shouldn’t need a reminder so soon.
He turned to Tayuya. “Thank you for the dinner. I believe I said I would return the favor. I’m thinking home cooked food would be the better option.” A bit of a jab, but mostly unintentional, she had agreed to being set up on a date after all.
Shizune took the offered hand and stood, letting go when she had edge out of the booth. "Yes, thank you, Tayuya. You look very nice, really."
Tayuya smiled. At least Kabuto's woman appreciated it. She sent a bit of an icy smile Kabuto's way. "How about I talk to Greed, and then let you know about plans?" She asked. "He might not even want to go."
Standing slightly behind Shizune, he gave Tayuya a warning look. He knew that Orochimaru had spoken to her about what she was allowed to say, but that didn’t mean she had taken the talk to heart yet. She was a little slow to learn some things. “I’ve been meaning to speak to him, myself, so I’ll talk to him about it.” He plastered his smile back on, his tone of voice filled with nothing but excitement over the upcoming date. “After that we can figure out when. I did say I would set it up.”
Tayuya could have kicked the table. "Alright, then." She smiled. "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you."
Shizune noted a bit of silence and pushed Kabuto a bit by the shoulders. "Well, we'll be going then, Tayuya, thank you for a lovely evening."
Tayuya smiled and waved the two off before pelting up to the rooftops to get back to her place. She waited until she'd locked the door behind her before picking up the first thing she laid hands on, a chair, and slamming it across the room. "SON OF A BITCH!!"