Chapter 3: Out Of The Ordinary
It was now Friday again, and as Roxy watched Seto Kaiba walk into the bar and take his seat, she couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. She'd never taken such notice to him because he was the grumpy CEO that everyone knew about, but now she found herself taking in his features more carefully. He was a tall lean man, with strong features that could probably hurt someone with a single look. His presence just radiated power; he was probably the most powerful man in all of Domino in fact, and yet he spent his friday nights in a bar just like ay other citizen. This perplexed Roxy, but she never asked questions, as she could always tell from his body language that he didn't want to have anything to do with anybody.
This particular night, Roxy noticed as he walked in, that his shoulders were back and his head was up as he approached the bar. It was only something small, how he held himself, but as Roxy knew a lot about body language she picked it up instantly. It looked like that's how he should hold himself, being as high up the food chain as he was. She imagined that was probably his demeanor when he was at Kaiba Corp, bossing around his employees. Upon entering the bar however, he would usually slouch his shoulders and drop his head. Originally Roxanne thought that was simply him relaxing after a tiring day of being higher than everyone, but as time went on she started to realise that maybe it was more than that, and had something to do with the reason he actually came to the bar every Friday. The only problem was, she had no idea what that was, and she assumed she never would.
Seto took his seat at the bar, and as Roxy walked over she noticed that he relaxed his shoulders, but he still kept his head up, looking across at all the expensive old liquors on the back wall. Even as she walked over to greet him she noticed that the mood surrounding him was lighter than usual, or at least he was trying to look that way. If he was, he was trying very hard.
"Good evening Mr Kaiba," she said with a smile when she reached him, "After the usual?"
Seto looked away from the spirits on the back wall to look at her, "Please, I've been here enough times, there's no need for formalities," he said to her. She could tell he was trying very hard not to let his usual cold tone sink into his voice, and Roxy had to restrain herself from just staring at him. What had gotten into this man? For the past couple of months he would come here every Friday, showing off signals that he didn't want to talk to anyone, not even acknowledge that she was there when she served him, and then leave. It was the same thing every Friday. So why the sudden change? Roxanne went through everything in her head.
He didn't slump his shoulders and drop his head when he came in.
He's not closing up to conversation like he usually does.
He doesn't sound cold and uninviting.
He actually looked at her and acknowledged her presence.
He spoke to her .
Roxy was beyond confused now.
Kaiba continued, "I'm referred to as Mr Kaiba at work, but here I am simply Seto," he explained. Roxy decided she would get to the bottom of this later, and simply went along with it, without asking questions.
Roxy nodded, "As you wish, Seto. After your usual?" she asked.
"Actually I feel like spending some money," he said, inclining his head to the back wall, "What's your most expensive spirit?"
Roxanne was surprised once again by his demeanor, but she followed his whims until he was drinking the most expensive liquor the bar had to offer. Not that she was surprised about that, he had more than enough money to throw around. As she went back to serving her other customers, she watched him carefully from a distance. She could tell that he was trying to very hard to keep up his lighter attitude for some reason, but she couldn't figure out why. Why is he trying so hard to look happier? she asked herself, It's obvious that he isn't anywhere near happy. And he never was.
When she walked over to replace his drink, her curiosity got the better of her. "So why this sudden change of demeanor Seto?" she asked him, taking the empty glass away. He seemed to be taken by surprise, as if he hadn't expected to be asked this.
"Hmm? Oh, I simply had a good day, that's all," he said, taking a sip of his new drink.
Roxanne assumed that he had been able to convince a lot of women various things with that attractive, persuasive voice, but it didn't convince her. "Don't lie to a bartender Seto, I know more about body language than you think," she said with a slight smirk as she wiped down the bench. He looked surprised once again, and when he couldn't think of something to say, she spoke again. "If you'd had a good day you wouldn't be here," she said simply.
Seto sighed and placed his glass down. Now there was no point in trying to look upbeat if she had already seen through him. He simply slumped his shoulders and dropped his head again, saying, "You're right about that."
Roxy placed the tea towel down that she had been idly drying glasses with, taking this as an opportunity to get some answers. "Then what's bothering you?" she asked him.
He simply looked into his glass with a glare, "The women in this town only care about money," he said bitterly, not looking up at her. Roxy noticed that this was as much that she would get out of him, as he had now closed himself off to any more conversation. She was glad that she had gotten this far however, perhaps in the weeks to come she would uncover more about the mysterious CEO. She walked back to the center of the bar to serve a customer that she very much disliked at this point. He had already had a few drinks, and she could tell he was going to cause trouble later in the night. After working in this place for so long, she could easily pick up on such things. What made it worse was that neither Seth or Dan were here tonight, which meant she'd have to deal with this idiot by herself. Usually if there were any customers that became too rowdy or aggressive, those two would help her rid the bar of them. Not that she couldn't do it herself, it was just much easier with some brute force.
After the man finished what would be his last drink, he hollered out to Roxy. "Oi sweetheart, send us another," he called out obnoxiously.
Roxy rolled her eyes and turned around to face him. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't serve you," she said to him politely.
He glared at her, as she noticed his anger start to come to the surface. Here we go, she thought. "Now you listen 'ere girlie, I'm being as polite as I need ta be," he said through clenched teeth, "now take me bloody money and get me another drink," he growled.
Roxy stood her ground, "sorry," she said. "By law I cannot serve you, you've consumed too much alcohol already," she pointed out. "And if you persist I must ask you to leave."
The man then became aggressive, standing to yell at her over the bar with a clenched fist. Roxy was ready to call Adrian over to help deal with this mess, as she realised she probably couldn't dispatch this man all by herself. As the drunken idiot went to attempt to climb over the bar, two men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed both of his shoulders to pull him back. Roxy realised with surprise that she knew both of the people who had stopped the drunk.
Holding onto the man's left arm with an unimpressed look, Seto Kaiba yanked the man off of the bar with a grunt.
Then, Roxy noticed a very well dressed Yami grasping the man's other arm, restraining him as he tried to pull away from the two men. When did he get here? she asked herself, surprised. His biceps were easily noticeable through his rolled up grey buttoned shirt, as he forced the man's arm behind his back so that he couldn't throw any punches that he had been planning on delivering.
When Seto and Yami noticed each other however, they both froze, staring at the other. They had each known someone else had come to restrain the man, they just hadn't realised who the other was until now.
"What are you doing here?" Seto asked, his usual cold tone back as he glared down at Yami.
"I could ask you the same thing," Yami replied, his deep voice as even and cool as ever. The man they were holding then struggled, yelling curses at them both, and they decided to put aside their differences for a moment so that they could throw the man out. Once they had done so, they both walked back to the bar, glaring at each other as they sat in their respective places at opposite ends of the room.
Roxanne just stared in amazement and confusion. Perhaps she didn't need Seth and Dan to help dispose of aggressive customers. She looked to both ends of the bar where Seto and Yami had just taken their seats.
She didn't know why, but she could tell they didn't like each other for whatever reason. But she took in the fact that they had both gone out of their way to help her, despite their dislike for each other.
Something was definitely going on here, and Roxy was determined to figure it out.
Tada! Yami and Seto to the rescue! :D
so what do you think about Seto's odd behaviour? It's certainly confusing Roxy :P
You'll find in in due time though, don't worry :D
If you're lucky, I might update again when i get home from work, but we'll see, so sit tight!
Let me know what you think :)
PharaohsThrone
