Devil's Dance Floor {P}

[The God Damn Otokage]

She let the water pound around her for a second longer before switching it off and wrapping the towel around her body. She squished the water out of her hair over the tub and let it lay loose across her back as she put her glasses on. Moving down stairs she would hold the towel tightly to her body with one hand as she peeked in the fridge. "Jeez, you could have gotten food." She said with a sigh. "Take out?" She asked as she looked back at him quizzically. As much as she really felt like being lazy there wasn't much choice without food in the house. Elgar's house keeping skills were right on par with hers though which wasn't much to be said for either of them. "There's that little place right around the corner I can run to. Remember they had the really good dumplings?" She asked as she made her way back to her room in pursuit of clothing.

[Elgar]

Elgar would wrap the towel around his waist and follow Mayu into the kitchen. He would listen to her talk about the fridge being empty. "Me? I just got home." He would say with a chuckle. Walking towards the bedroom he would begin his search for food. Calling out from the room. "Hey! If you don't want to get dressed now I can get someone to run and get us food. I do have those kind of powers." He knew how much she hated the idea of him being Kage. But it would save her the trip. And he wanted to spend more time with her before he pushed his plans through in the village.

[The God Damn Otokage]

"Don't go playing Kage to try and impress me!" She said with a sniff as she said as she ducked into her room. She shed her towel, casting it lazily across the floor as she sought out clothing. A black shirt that was an exact mimic of her previous top covered her top. Dark blue denim slid over her muscular legs. Her wallet slipped into her pocket and she tied her hair into a tight bun and slid on her glasses. "I'll just be a minute." She told Elgar before dipping out the door. The take out place was literally just around the corner.

She stared at the menu for awhile before ordering. She waited patiently and after she paid for the food jetted back home. The door slammed open and she set the bags of steaming food on the table. "Alright let's see. I got... Gyoza, Korokke, Yakitori, Onigiri, and Ramen. I think I may have gone a little over the top." She said thoughtfully as she looked at the bags. "Oh well. Left overs make a good meal too!" She said cheerfully as she began laying everything out. "Grab the chopsticks and the spoons." She instructed Elgar.

[Elgar]

Laughing as Mayu got dressed he would find some of his clothes. Black pants, and a black wife beater. Placing his necklace around his neck he would make his way out into the kitchen. Luckily the store was only around the corner. Sitting in the chair he would light another cigarette and lean back. Tapping his fingers along the table he would wait for her to return. He would hear the door open and the chair would fall forwards. Putting his cigarette out he would place it in the ashtray and move it over to the counter. Grabbing two plates out he would place them on the table.

"Damn! That smells so good. What did you get?"

As she entered with the bags she would begin to name all of the things she had got. Before he sat down he would grab the chopsticks and spoons. Placing them on the table. Once everything was laid out he would take the bags and throw them out. "Mayu. This looks so good. I don't think you went overboard at all." Planting a kiss on her forehead he would go and sit down. Smiling he would grab his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu"

[The God Damn Otokage]

She knelt down on the opposite side of the low table and lifted her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu." She murmured before opening containers. Elgar didn't like Onigiri nearly as much as she did so she helped herself to those. The Yakitori and ramen were his big loves. She loved Onigiri and Korokke. They evened out nicely in their eating choices so there was never an argument about who got what. "Mm. So I went and picked up that silly saw blade mission in the tower." She told him. "I figure I can save up to get my Air Treks if I get some missions done." She explained. "By the way Hi no Kuni makes me wanna vomit."

"What trouble did you get into while I was gone? Seems like its been forever." She mused between healthy bites of onigiri. She had always had a huge passion for rice. Rice and potatoes were the main staples of her diet, and fruit. "Any more women flinging themselves at you in their desperate desire for attention?" She asked.

[Elgar]

Kneeling down Elgar would smile. Yakitori, and ramen. Something he hasn't had in such a long time. While the two sat eating Mayu would let Elgar know about her mission. "Oh you did? How much do those skates of yours cost anyway?" He would ask before placing more Yakitori into his mouth. He would chuckle at the comment about the Hi no Kuni. ["I never liked it all that much myself." As the two continued to eat he would think of the last time he was home. Finally Mayu would ask what he had been doing.

With a stick of Yakitori in his mouth he would rip a piece of chicken off. Chewing it he would take a sip of his sake. "There was some trouble back home in Shimo no Kuni. So I went out to find out what was going on." He would pause for a moment and take another spoonful of ramen. "Found out that a few Jaishin misfits were causing trouble. So I took them out." That was the clean version of it. Mayu didn't need to know about the citizen deaths. He would then laugh at her next question. "No. There haven't been any other women throwing themselves at me." Laughing he would reach over and place some rice onto his plate. He would eat like a king for the night.

[The God Damn Otokage]

Rising she would kiss his cheek. "I've missed you." She murmured before going to the front door and tossing on her jacket over her training gear. Her hair was back in a pony tail and her glasses on. "I'll be back later... I really have missed you though." She said with a little sadness before walking out the door. The sudden thunk behind her of the door closing made her stop and sigh. It seemed like everything was changing... and she didn't like where it was headed.

{Exit}

[The God Damn Otokage]

She walked into the house feeling the cold breath of loneliness upon her neck. She sighed as she locked the door behind her and leaned her back against the solid wood. Her eyes closed as she tried to bite back the wash of emotion she was feeling. If she was a lesser woman she would have cried but she would not do that. A long moment passed before she pressed herself away from the door. A hard thump resonated through the empty house as she sat roughly upon a chair, staring at her kitchen table, as if it had the answers for her. A shake of her head and she got up, making her way into the small bathroom.

Her hands grappled behind her head as she pulled out the holder for her pony tail. Her long pink hair streamed down around her as she tossed the tie angrily at the counter. Her rose colored glasses slipped from her nose to clatter uselessly onto the counter. It was quickly joined by every speck of weaponry she possessed as well as her earrings. Her hands set down on the counter and she gripped it as tightly as she could. Gray eyes stared blankly into the mirror as her mouth drew a taught line, not betraying any emotion. If she noticed water welling in the corners of her eyes she ignored it.

With a steady push she turned away from the bathroom and stepped into the bedroom. Once she would have called this the happiest room in the house but now it was empty. The blankets were still tangled awkwardly at the bottom of the bed, pillows still held the impression of the heads that once laid there but there was no life in it anymore. Small steps carried her to Elgar's dresser. Hesitantly she opened the top drawer. Seeing his clothes still there she slammed the draw shut and pressed her back to it before sliding down to sit on the unforgiving floor.

Her legs drew up to her chest as her head bowed. Fingers danced nervously around the wolf-head pendant around her neck. No noise came from the still house. Her shoulders quivered, silently shaking for long moments before they were joined by a quiet sobbing. "Dammit!" She exclaimed, keeping her head down as tears danced tracks down her face, dripping onto the necklace that felt like her last remaining tie to Elgar. "I didn't want it to be like this." She sobbed quietly, still never lifting her head. To look up would be to see the empty room and she couldn't face that... not now.

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[The God Damn Otokage]

It was impossible to say how much time had passed, all she knew is when she looked up it was completely dark. Lank hair rolled around her face as she stared blankly at the darkened bed. Sleep... she knew she should have gone to bed long ago but she couldn't bring herself to crawl into that empty bed. The thought of lying there alone... smelling him all over the bed... she couldn't handle that. She had to do something... but what? There was no food in the house so that was out of the question. For a moment she considered going to the little place around the corner but the mere thought of it brought more tears to her eyes. It was the last meal she had shared with Elgar.

She let her head roll back on her shoulders until it connected firmly with his dressed. The pain from hitting her head streaked through her body but it didn't phase her in the least. Her lips pressed together tightly as her eyes closed and she exhaled deeply. What was she supposed to do? Her head turned from side to side, as if she was trying to run the thoughts out of her head. She squeezed her closed tighter, ignoring the tears that gathered in the corners. Why was she waiting around? The smart thing was to distract herself, to move on, to just forget him... but she couldn't do that. He was a part of her life in the biggest way, how could she just throw it all away, even if that's what he was doing...

Her fingers grappled against the wooden floor before she levered herself to her feet. She swayed from trying to stand on legs stiff from disuse. She wanted to turn away but her eyes were glued on the room. She felt that if she left it could all just melt away, that she would really loose it forever. Finally she turned, drawing her burning eyes away from the room as she made her way back to the kitchenette. She slumped into the uncomfortable chair and laid her arms down upon the table. Her head laid gently upon her hands as her eyes stared blankly ahead. Sleep... food... none of that even seemed to matter.

The fingers of her right hand absently played with the charm around her neck as she stared on. Time stretched out, every second seemed like an hour as she waited... for what she didn't know. Even when the windows begin to glitter with the first rays of morning light she didn't move from her silent vigil. Morning came, the birds sang their many-voiced symphonies, and all the while she stared on. Her entire body felt numb by the time the sun had fully risen. No more tears fell from her eyes now... they were empty and cold like the rest of her.

[/blockquote]

[The God Damn Otokage]

She pulled herself up from the table. The sun was starting to go down again. She knew she couldn't simply lay on the table and mope. Slowly she rose, her entire body ached. She shuffled towards the door before slipping her feet into her zori and heading outside. For the first time in her life she did not care that her hair was not tied off and that her jewelry and sunglasses were abandoned. She looked pretty... almost feminine. Slowly she shuffled her way towards the corner restaurant, quietly ordering dumplings and rice balls, trying to ignore that she had shared those treats with Elgar recently.

With the take-out containers in her hands she made her way home before returning to the table. Quietly she took up her chopsticks murmuring "Itadakimasu." Quietly she ate, letting the food fill her, though she did not taste it. She could only manage a few of each before she couldn't eat anymore. She placed the items in the cold box and went back to the bedroom. She stared blankly for a moment before stripping off her clothes and throwing them haphazardly upon the floor.

Quietly she changed into her nightshirt before going to Elgar's dresser. In the closet she found an empty box and with shaking hands she began dropping all of his garments into the box. One at a time she placed the stacks of clothing gently into the box, closing each drawer as she finished. When the final drawer was done she closed it loudly before moving into the bathroom. His soap sat in the shower, carefully she placed it in a bag and threw it into the box, along with every other product he had in her house. Finally the box was full and the house empty of any mark of him.

She closed the box and stared at it for a moment before shaking her head. She wanted to take it to the tower but it was late, she hadn't slept in nearly two days. First she would sleep and first thing in the morning she would drop off his belongings as well as her head band. Quietly she slipped under her covers and closed her eyes, the smell of him washing over her in the empty house. Her eyes closed tightly as she wished for just a moment that he was beside her but the feeling quickly faded and sleep came, wrapping her tightly and carrying her to a land where pain did not exist.

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[The God Damn Otokage]

{Exit}

[The God Damn Otokage]

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[Zetsumei]

I walked from the shadows of the trees, a bit of a change up to my usual wardrobe. I had decided to don the mantle I wore on rare occasions, though tonight I wore something akin to a warlock's hat. Somehow it seemed appropriate considering the hour at which I was summoned. I walked straight for the figure in full view, no attempt to mask my presence at all with only a single XXL clay pouch filled with eighty slots of clay. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of being summoned at such an hour?"

[The God Damn Otokage]

[Zetsumei]

The figure was masking their voice from me, someone who did not want their identity known. I could not help but smile at this person's questions, though there was some sense to it in it's own rights as well. "Everyone has their own story to seek out, ever changing and I have found mine, thus far, as that of an observer. I observe and record what I see in the form of stories. I have stories that are written for all, some written for only myself, and even one written to be known by none." As I spoke, my feet carried me closer to the hooded figure, stopping roughly three feet away from them. "I find my interest peaked in a story that could draw an observer such as myself into the protagonist's role."

[The God Damn Otokage]

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[Zetsumei]

The figure retreated as I advanced, it would seem that they did not wish for any sort of close proximity to me. Knowing this, I could only press on and continue to advance upon their position. "Yes, they could. Yet I have always despised open conflict, it really is much better to end a fight before it begins." Anyone who had seen my file would know that I was one to avoid fights by any means necessary, yet killing was never something that had been avoided.

[The God Damn Otokage]

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[Zetsumei]

A smirk rose to my lips as the figure disappeared and spoke of pressing things, I was simply one of those people after all. "Yet this world would not be worth living in if no one pressed when told not to." I was quite calm with my tone, yet my eyes spoke of a childish mischief. The figure continued to speak with a voice he could not pinpoint. "As I said, I am an observer. There are secrets that must not be known to some, some to none, and others that must be brought to light. I know when a tongue should be held and a pen stayed, it would take much to wrench such things from me."

[The God Damn Otokage]

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