"Is he still ... you know, like that?" Coming out from his office – totally not hiding.
"Like what, my beloved father?" her daughter asked him.
"So that's a 'yes.' Ugh, I'm this close to getting diabetes," he sighed.
He stole a view to Yusho in his office, and there he was going through receipts, orders, bank accounts and bills with such ease and efficiency that the documents were almost flying and the man himself looked like he was floating at times.
"I don't know about you, but it still creeps me out," he said, diverting his eyes from the sight.
"It creeps you out that we're finally up to date with the bills? Why can't you, for once, be happy for him?" Casey asked with an eyebrow arched.
"Because it's hardly something to celebrate when we know that the moment his heart – and probably his ass too – gets broken, all the tasks will be left to pile up, again," he responded
"Then you shouldn't have played matchmaker," she remarked, pulling a face at him.
"Oh, real mature! Besides, how could I have known that after at least a dozen of times, it would not be the same again?" he yelled. "And did you see her? Did you expect me to believe that a top-tier, beautiful huntress – who is totally out of his league, by the way – would give him fake hopes like that!"
"How are you so sure she's leading him on?" she asked, and Jeff couldn't stop his rolled eyes at his daughter naïveté.
"She hasn't shown up for three days," he responded. It was only a blessing that a silly note would be enough to maintain Yusho chipper for so long.
"Maybe she's busy. You said so yourself, she's a top-tier huntress," she countered.
"Even if she wasn't top-tier among her kin or whatever they call themselves, hunters travel all around Remnant. She may be across the kingdom as we speak," he pushed.
"Then how come she checked out at the village guest house for the month?" Casey countered again, this time with a grin.
"That could be anything… Wait what did you say?"
...
"I already told you, I'm fine Shuzo…. No, the mission went off without a hitch…. No, I'm not captured. Jeez have a little faith in me…. Yes, Ozpin already knows…. Yes, he approved it…. No,for all your beloved burning heart, don't come here…. Yeah okay, see you later."
Yoko sank down on the bed once she finally managed to make her dear friend end the call.
It wasn't that she actually thought him a nuisance – most of the time anyway. Unlike Ozpin, who usually allowed her to have free range for her missions as long as he could be sure she wasn't in danger, Shuzo demanded to know the most insignificant detail about everything: location, weather, mission client, reasoning…
And right now, Yoko didn't have much of the latter to offer him.
'Why am I staying here?' Tedium mostly, maybe a cup of dissatisfaction, add a teaspoon of general apathy and a pinch of insomnia and you have the recipe for a not-so-nice and hard ass Yoko…okay, maybe she needed to stop thinking about stuff that would make her hungry too.
'…Who's the loneliest of all?'
Screw it; she would go out for a bite.
...
"What do you mean I can't go talk to her?" he asked, feeling his chest constrict at the thought of her leaving and not seeing him or ever getting a response for her note.
"For one, you're still on shift," Jeff said.
"Technically speaking, he's always on shift," piped up Casey, looking through the song requests.
"And she's a customer," Jeff continued, ignoring his daughter. "You should never bother customers."
"She's only hanging around in the bar, which is closed because you know you're here," added Casey once more.
"…So she obviously does not wish to be disturbed. She's probably on a mission or something," attempted Jeff.
"She's on a temporary leave," Casey corrected.
"Must you always fight me on everything?" deadpanned Jeff.
"You know it," answered Casey, grinning.
...
For whatever reason, the owner had seen it necessary to open the bar, barely at afternoon. In Vale, he would get a fine for doing so, but here in Mistral, there seemed to be far less regulations or enforcers of it.
Not that she was complaining, she thought as she ordered some sake, even though she knew it was a really bad idea; but what was a meal without a good drink to accompany with? 'That only makes sense when you order food as well, Yoko.' 'Let me be, Ozpin.'
"Uh? Isn't it a little early to drink?" she heard someone ask.
"That's nice, but I don't need a parent," she countered before actually seeing the owner of the voice. The owner took a seat next to hers, and he looked so different without his signature red suit and top hat. Instead, he was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt he looked thinner for starters and every bit the bar employee he supposedly was.
He seemed to flinch at her harsh tone and after a lack of answer or retort, Yoko swiveled her stool to fully face him, despite being a good head taller than her. He seemed to have shrunk in size, tucked in arms and lowered head.
"How about you? When was the last time you had a full meal?" Two could play at this game.
"Uh? Depends on what you consider full? I …maybe earlier this week," he answered, perking up a little, and talking about lack of regular meals as if they were discussing the weather or the time of the day.
"You mean the one I bought you?" she found herself asking again. It really shouldn't bother her so much; they barely knew each other.
"Y-yes, I could never thank you enough for it…" he said, twiddling with his fingers and avoiding her gaze. She could swear his face looked redder, despite the fact he was not drinking, and then Yoko saw it, the crumpled napkin in his hand with the lipstick mark on it staring back at her.
All of a sudden, she was the one feeling like she wanted to disappear or hide behind the counter.
"O-okay, maybe I should let you guys go back to work," she commented, motioning to stand and looked at how his face morphed from bashful to panic and saw his arm move as if trying to reach out for her, but thought better at the last minute.
'You caused this, are you running away?' great timing for Shuzo to pop in as well.
Yoko had the sudden thought that he actually looked rather adorable like that, but squashed it down as she could feel her face heat and her stomach doing flip-flops. She turned her back on him, but not before looking at the crushed expression that started making its way on his face.
It apparently went noticed by the owner as well, since he seemed to regard his employee for a while before sighing heavily.
"Can we expect to see you around again, Miss Yoko?" asked Jeff while passing her card through the reader. "I heard you will be staying for a while."
"I'm not sure yet," she lied, becoming very aware of the mildly startled – hopeful? – Sounds coming from the man behind her.
"Sure, sure. So I guess we'll see you when you make up your mind, right?" he asked.
"Yeah …we'll see Jeff and…?" she trailed off, not waiting for and answer and taking back her card, ready to hurry to the exit.
"And Yusho," she heard Jeff calling, and despite herself, she turned around to face them again. "His name is Yusho, but you know, I think his tongue is tied at the moment," he said, pointing at 'Yusho,' who right now looked he wanted to say something but was choking on it.
"I see. Well, I'll see you around too, Yusho," she found herself saying before exiting the place.
Back at the guest house, it had taken a whole sleepless night to finally make a decision.
Well here is the third part of the Yusho and Yoko epic love story ... this once again from Yoko's POV, I wil deal with Yusho's feelings for her (and in turn for Yuya) in more deeply in the main story because he's still alive, and Yoko isn't... she's only ever described by other people so I wanted to shape her personality with this.
