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Symbolism on the Center Stage
If Mugen, Fuu, and Jin thought the outside of the theater was impressive, they certaintly weren't dissapointed when they saw the inside. Wide, with high ceilings and beautiful decorations that spanned the walls, the Kyogen theater looked every bit like a theater should have. There was a multitude of seats--atleast enough to house a good four or five hundred--and high at the back of the room, sat the stage, beige in color, with a backdrop of shoji screens painted with foliage and sakura.
"So, this is it, huh?" Mugen's voice echoed.
"It's huge!" Fuu blurted out, eyes popping.
Jin nodded.
"Yes. The Kyogen Theater is one of the largest traditional venues of this area." Aomori told them, smiling, as she continued to walk through the room, heading far back to a door just left of the stage,"Please, this way. There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Behind her, Mugen smirked to himself, watching as the woman swayed slightly in her movements.
"Don't have to tell me twice." was all he muttered with a whistle before following.
"Give me a break.." Fuu sighed loudly in agitation, having heard this.
Not ten minutes before, he was spouting complaints about how there was no way he'd do something like this blah, blah, blah, but as soon as a woman--tall, pale, beatiful, and..ok, blessed with assets--came into the picture, his opinion did an about face and changed completely, almost as if he'd never had a problem with it at all.
Typical.
But Fuu guessed it wasn't an entirely bad thing--no matter how annoying. It atleast meant that Mugen was sold on the idea, and that he didn't need convincing. That made it a whole lot easier.
One down, one to go, so to speak.
"Who is it that we're meeting?" Jin asked, eyes trained on his surroundings as they passed through a door and left the theater, coming suprisingly outside where there was a long wooden walkway that stretched on and on, fountains and gardens visible on either side.
"My grandmother,.." Aomori said softly."The owner of this theater."
They continued up the walkway until they came to two buildings, side by side. One had two doors, the other, only one.
Aomori stopped in front of the single-door building, knocked, and waited patiently before she slid it open and stepped inside, Mugen, Jin, and Fuu following.
It was an office. A cramped, littered with books and papers, office. There was a table in the center, covered with writing instruments, more books, and three or four cups--tea it looked like. Someone sat behind the table, their back to them as they dug absentmindedly through a bag, muttering and cursing.
"Where the hell did I put it? I know it's in here somewhere. I just know it!" It rattled on, sounding raspy and indistinct in gender, accompanied by the sound of crinkling and jingling.
"Wajima-san?" Aomori began politely, her hands clasped together lightly as she called out to the individual.
"The damn thing has to be in here." Dig, dig, jangle, grunt.
"..Wajima-san." Aomori spoke louder this time, clearing her throat.
Behind her, Mugen and Fuu raised their eyebrows, swapping a glance, while Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, arms crossed. They all were thinking the same thing.
What the hell was she looking for?
"Ah! There it is!" A small chuckle of delight, followed by a fit of coughs. Then, jangle, jangle, pause."..Confound it all to hell!"
Apparently, there it wasn't.
Aomori covered her face with her hands, and the three behind her could have sworn she growled low in her throat before giving it one last shot, louder than ever before and definitely with aggrivation.
"Wajima-san!" It had volume, plenty of it.
But this Wajima-san was either deaf or too caught up in their searching for whatever the heck it was to pay even the slightest bit of attention.
A snort.
"Ok, enough of this shit." Mugen spat, fed up with this idiot and hardly having enough patience to withstand it any longer.
"You, digging in the purse-thing. Shut the hell up and turn around, there are people in the room." He'd said it loud, way loud, almost a yell, the touching sentiments striking a chord in the individual as they jumped slightly, shoulders popping.
Well, that had done the trick.
Slowly, very slowly, Wajima-san turned around to the group, bones cracking and breath wheezing.
And the entire group, with exception of Aomori, who was smiling happily, suddenly wished that she hadn't.
It was like looking at a pumpkin, and Fuu had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud.
Wajima-san was round and short and her face was all but hidden by a massive array of bulges and wrinkles as if it was permanently scrunched in distaste. Eyes peeked out from underneath a set of half-moon lenses and her thin line-of-a-mouth was set into a scowl. Atop her head, a stark-white tuft of hair was messily assembled into a bun, chopsticks poking out. And the clothes were orange.
Bright orange.
"Yeh?" Wajima-san's eyebrows quirked upward.
What a response.
Aomori sighed audibly, clearly thankful,"Wajima-san, these people have come to offer their services to the theater." She swept her hand back in gesture, holding her breath.
One.
Two.
Three seconds of silence.
"Hn." Wajima-san suddenly turned her back on them again, the crunching and crinkling starting up again as she went back to her searching.
Clearly, she'd been unimpressed.
"Wajima-san!" Aomori quickly apologized to the three, turning to face them and waving her hand, before she fixed her grandmother with a slight scowl, though the woman couldn't see it,"They've come to help."
"Yeah, lady." Mugen folded his arms across his chest."So quit digging in that damn bag already, or we're gonna leave."
Wajima-san's jangling went on for a few more seconds before she quieted, turning back to them with a pipe and lighter in her hand.
"Knew I'd put it in there somewhere." She lit up, taking a deep breath before blowing out, the smoke clouding around her as she fixed a cool glare at Mugen, Fuu, and Jin.
Who were all gaping at her now.
She went through all that trouble just to get a smoke?
Old people..
"So, yeh wish to stay here, do yeh?" she asked behind a veil of smoke as she took another drag.
Mugen was already opening his mouth, but Fuu quickly jumped in.
"Yes!" She clapped her hands together,"Please, oh, please, let us stay!" Her face contorted in that usual expression she used when she desperately wanted something.
Wajima-san cackled at the girl's enthusiasm, setting down her pipe on one of the teacups and scowling in thought, "Let me have a look at yeh." She demanded in a crackly voice, hand beckoning for Fuu and her companions to step forward.
They did as told, but not without complaint. Mugen grunted, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, while Jin stood there, finding this woman to be rediculous and wondering if this was all even worth it.
"This is Fuu, Wajima-san." Aomori said, introducing her.
Wajima-san eyed Fuu, looking the girl up and down, tutting here and there, grunting, and narrowing her eyes.
Then she sighed.
"What a twig." Wajima-san shook her head.
A vein popped out of Fuu's forehead,"Hey!"
"It's true." Mugen smirked.
"Shut up, you idiot!" She hissed at him, thwonking him on the head and receiving a glare in return.
"Bitch, do you want me to kill you!" Mugen hissed back, hands reaching for his sword.
"However, I suppose you'll have to do." Their tirade went unnoticed by the old woman who picked up the pipe again and took a puff before setting it back down, ash falling,"If nothing else, you can be a prop onstage, should your skills prove to be inadequate."
The vein in Fuu's forehead got bigger, and was joined by several others, all throbbing.
And Mugen, the bastard, certaintly wasn't helping with his sniggering and haughty grins.
"T-Thank y-you, very much." She ground out through clenched teeth, struggling, just struggling to keep her temper in check, as she fell back into the line.
Wajima-san then called for Mugen to step forward, eyes narrowing as she noticed his cocky grin.
"You." She called, finger pointing. "What is your title?"
"Mugen." He stretched his arms out and put them behind his head, mouth grinning,"Think you can remember that, old woman?"
Wajima-san seemed to bristle at his words, signaling with her finger for him to come closer.
"Hm?" Mugen crept toward her, bending down until he was two feet in front of her.
A beat of silence passed.
Then out of nowhere the woman clunked Mugen on the head with her pipe, the contents spilling over his hair and face, the locks burning and smoke rising.
He shot up in a instant, grabbing his head and patting it furiously, eyes wide.
"The hell!" boomed in the room and now it was Fuu's turn to be laughing.
Wajima-san's eyes were venemous as she shook the pipe at him,"You, ruffian, need to learn to respect! I will not have some high-horse youngster strutting around this theater!" She croaked at him,"Shape up, ya hear?"
Mugen growled at her, still holding his hair and hoping he wasn't bald."Yeah, whatever." Stupid bitch.
This damn stuff had better be worth it if he had to put up with this crap.
He went back to stand beside Fuu and Jin, muttering under his breath, looking absolutely ready to kill, his fingers wandering down to his sword, just itching to draw it.
"And you," Wajima-san rose her eyebrow at Jin, who hadn't said a word throughout the entire inspection,"Who are you?" She demanded, thinking he, too, was nothing short of ghastly.
Jin's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as he walked in front of the table.
"Jin." He prepared himself for what came next, whatever that was.
The old woman just stared at him for a long moment, eyes wandering up and down his form, mouth muttering incoherently, fingers wrapped underneath her chin in contemplation.
She closed her eyes, voice incredulous.
"A homosexual."
And the reaction was insane.
Aomori fainted from horror. Fuu nearly toppled over screaming "WHAAAAAT!". And Mugen? He was howling up a storm, hands slapping violently at his sides, head thrown completely back, unable to stop.
"Excuse me." Jin's voice was almost hoarse, his eyes clamped shut so tight it was obvious he was doing everything he could to calm himself before he slaughtered her, old woman or not.
"It certaintly must be so. I've never seen a more feminine looking man." Wajima-san studied him. "Am I wrong?"
Feminine!
Jin went straight for his sword, gripping the handle with violent force, desperately wanting to unsheath the weapon and cut that bitch of a woman to pieces. But he restrained himself, a calming breath surging within him as he straightened his stature.
He was not a homosexual. He was not feminine. He. was. not.
"You are indeed wrong." Jin replied, deadly calm."I am not, and never will be, a homosexual. And I respectfully request that you take back your words."
No woman, no matter how old or senile or downright insane they seemed, would get away with calling him such a thing.
And all the while the laughter continued, growing louder and getting stronger, until it stopped dead center, a loud "Oof!" sounding afterward as Mugen was elbowed in the gut, Fuu being the culprit, her fist twitching as she stared at his hunched over form.
"God, will you shut up already!" She bellowed, flustered and embarassed, knowing Jin was most likely going to kill them both any minute."It wasn't even that funny! Urg--I mean--It wasn't funny at all!"
Mugen stood up then, glaring and shouting back at her, both fighting like cats, arms swinging.
Wajima-san eyed them momentarily before focusing back on Jin who was still standing there, waiting.
She squinted at him, "Fine." Her tone was clipped and it looked as though she wasn't entirely convinced. "I apologize for my assumption."
Jin narrowed his eyes at her, accepting it, before he fell in between Mugen and Fuu, glaring at them both and just daring them to say something.
Poor Aomori was still laying in the floor.
Wajima-san stared down the three individuals on the other side of her desk, looking at each of them momentarily before picking up her pipe again.
"I am satisfied with the three of you." She said."You may work here at the theater, but be warned, there are rules to abide by and guidelines to follow, understand? Break these and you are gone."
They all nodded.
"Good."
Then Wajima-san preceeded to tell them everything they needed to know, like where they would sleep, what they would be doing, how much they would be earning, etc. etc. before turning around again.
She picked up three, white folders and spun back around, hurling them through the air.
Jin and Mugen and Fuu quickly caught them, eyes bewildered.
"Those are your scripts." The old woman told them, coughing."You'll need them come tomorrow morning. That's when we start rehearsals." She grunted.
"Tomorrow?" Fuu questioned. They sure wasted no time around here.
"Tomorrow." Wajima-san confirmed, cracking a toothy grin."See you bright and early." She cackled wickedly, only to bust out into a coughing fit directly after.
"Great." Mugen was not enthused.
Wajima-san glowered at them."Now, get out. I have work to do."
Glancing warily at Mugen and Jin, Fuu shrugged her shoulders and turned for the door, stepping over Aomori as she went.
Mugen followed, staring down at Aomori and shaking his head before he sautered through the doorway, Jin doing the same, arms folded.
As the door shut behind them and they walked away, Aomori bolted upright, her eyes searching.
"..What. What happened?" She asked, eyes dazed, only to put on a deep scowl soon after. "I fainted didn't I." She always fainted.
The old woman snorted.
"Looks like we'll have this theater up and running in no time.." Wajima-san smirked, feeling as though things were certaintly about to change.
xxxxx
A/N:So, their getting settled in! Wajima sure is a crafty mean old bat, isn't she? I decided to add in a couple of new characters to add to the flavor of the story, so please let me know what you think of them, ok?
This may have seemed slow going, but rest assured! In the next chapter, things are really gonna heat up. Fuu and company get their fist taste of acting and find out that it's nothing like they thought it'd be, in more ways than one. Is it too tough to handle, or will they stick it out for the cash? And what about Mugen and Aomori, will something transpire between them? Guess we'll just have to see!
And no. Before you kill me, flame me, hate me, I do NOT think Jin is gay in any way shape or form. I just thought I'd add that in there for comic relief and whatnot. So don't take it too seriously, yeah? It's just for fun.
And don't forget to review!