Chapter 6: Table Manners
Little by little Beatrix Kiddo recovered. Each day she became stronger whether it was to move her position on the bed, going from mostly liquids to something more solid, or eventually getting up to the bathroom without any aid. It took a good month until Beatrix was actually able to wander the house on her own. She had resided at Bill's for that month as moving back to her place would become more of a hassle. All in all she was recovering better than or as well as expected. By the second week of the following month Beatrix was up and about the house. For the past few weeks no one had been home in the mornings or early afternoons but Beatrix found it a tad comforting to have the place to herself. It was early that morning as Kiddo could be found sitting at the kitchen counter on a wooden stool. She was wearing a pair of baggy-pajama type sweat pants of a black color and a loose fitting black tank top to match. Her feet were bare and hung off the side idly. Locks of blonde hair were dampened as had recently come out of the shower but to sum it up she looked perfectly healed. Though, there were those bouts of pain and moving in at a certain angle aggravated the wound.
She was leaning on the counter, her hand stuck into a box of cereal, her gaze cast to watch the birds outside that were mingling in the Chinese bird bath. Her thoughts and peace and quiet were interrupted when she heard the front door open. Following this was the sound of swift feet padding against the wooden floor. Blue eyes looked up to greet the guest in a puzzled expression.
It was O-Ren Ishii. Beatrix blinked in surprise. O-Ren had arrived a few moments ago from Tokyo; her reasons for coming were unknown. She was clad in your classic leather pants and a white long sleeve shirt. Locks of raven black were cut short and flayed out in all different directions. Her soft and yet angered eyes settled on Beatrix. Eyes meet and silence perused. "Beatrix," O-Ren finally spoke up, a bowed head of greeting. Beatrix returned the bowed head and asked casually, "Why are you here?"
"Can't I stop and say hello to one of my fellow comrades?" Beatrix raised a slender brow, her head cocked to the side. "No, you can't." O-Ren took slow steps over to the table, her facade calm and appealing. "I heard what happened but looking at you, you like perfectly fine." Beatrix grinned wide and stuffed a handful of cereal in her mouth. She swallowed before replying, keeping a civilized tone "Fucker still hurts."
"I'm sure it does." Her steps ceased at the opposite end of the table. Her own head turned to the side. "What are you eating?" Beatrix pushed the box around to reveal the cover to the cereal box. It was bright red, a white bunny on the front, with multicolored writing labeling the box 'Trixs'.
O-Ren viewed the box carefully for a long moment before giving a snide reply, "Silly rabbit, trixs are for kids." Beatrix raised both brows at this a smirk tugging her lips. "Aye, that's the slogan." O-Ren held up a single digit. "Oh, no Beatrix, that's YOUR slogan."
"Ah! Kiddo!" Bill came strolling into the house after O-Ren, Elle on his arm. "Good to see you up and about. Thought we'd meet O-Ren at the airport." He picked up one of O-Ren's delicate hands off of the counter and kissed it lightly, grinning. Apparently Bill was in a good mood probably because he was surrounded by beautiful deadly women sometimes he was rather easy to figure out. Elle, on the other hand, didn't seem so peppy. She plopped down on the couch and snatched up a Cosmopolitan magazine off of the coffee table. She quickly buried her head in whatever smut she could find inside.
Bill spotted Beatrix's hand in the Trix box. He made a small gagging gesture. He had always hated that crap, but whatever made Beatrix happy. "So!" Bill clapped his hands together, "....drinks anyone?"
Beatrix knew Bill well and she knew his whole happy attitude that he was showering upon them was highly over rated. Yes, he was surrounded by beautiful woman and that would make any man's day but Bill wasn't any man. Brows narrowed on Bill as if saying 'what's up with you?' but it was short lived and she returned to munch on her cereal. O-Ren replied to Bill's welcoming and happy facade with a contented smile. She always thought of Bill as a surrogate father since her own died at such a young age she became very attached, in a daughterly manner. Even though she was growing to a very high stature in Tokyo she held the highest of honor and respect towards Bill. "Sake would be wonderful," replied O-Ren, as she slid into the chair opposite Beatrix at the table.
"Any drink with cereal would be--" Beatrix made the same gagging gesture Bill gave her upon seeing the cereal. A sly grin plastered on her face as she stuck her hand back into the bright red box. Bill caught Beatrix's look but ignored it. "Sake, good choice O-Ren.." He went over to the bar and began preparing drinks. Elle remained where she was. Ever since their little Alabama assignment, Elle had remained entirely distant from Beatrix. She had only come by to visit her once. It was hard to tell if this was out of guilt or just her usual loathing.
After a few minutes Bill brought drinks over to the table. "Sake, warm of course,." he placed the traditional ceramic glass in front of O-Ren. "Elle...." he set a Long Island Iced Tea down. Apparently, Elle didn't have much taste for variety in drinks. "And for you my dear, a drink for your cereal." he placed a giant glass of milk in front of Beatrix with a small smirk. Elle reluctantly got up off the couch and sat down at the table dragging her drink over to her. Bill sat down in the last spot. "I wish Vernita were here." Bill mused picked up his own Sake. Elle pursed her lips and lit up a cigarette. Bill gave her a glare. She quickly snubbed the cigarette. It was a weird picture, like some bizarre dysfunctional family.
All four sat there sipping at their drinks. O-Ren had her oriental fingers laced around the ceramic cup and rose to the sake to her lips taking a small sip. She than elegantly placed it back to the table. Beatrix switched from her milk to her cereal, blue eyes darting to each of them. The acquired silence kicked in and surprisingly O-Ren broke it. Her words were calm, well thought through, but always held that hostile note as if one wrong word were exchanged it would be deadly. "Beatrix, how are you feeling?"
Blue eyes looked up, her expression taking on a questionable expression. Hadn't they gone over that already? Perhaps O-Ren was just being polite especially taking to note that Bill was at the table. So, Bea decided she'd return the polite gesture. "I'm no worse, that's gotta count for something. And how are you, O-Ren?"
"Excellent, thank you."
Beatrix gave a tight nod and shot her gaze to Elle. "And, how are you Elle?" Silence replied. Brows narrowed on the other blonde. "Oh, I'm just fine Bea, how are you? Oh- shit, wait, I would know how you felt if I gave fuck about you," all of this was set in the most mocking tone Beatrix could muster. Obviously she had been quite unhappy that Elle only came to visit once that month and she couldn't even remember it correctly since she was drugged at the time. Dysfunctional wasn't even close to how this 'family' got along.
Something was bound to break, fitting that Beatrix would break it.
Elle's eye widened like a mad elephant's. "What did you just say bitch?" She pushed up from the table. It appeared as if she had been ready for this for sometime. "It's not my fucking fault you got shot! DUMBASS!" She picked her drink up and threw it in Beatrix's face. Beatrix gasped as the iced tea splashed into her face and dripped down to her shirt. She should have expected that. "Fuck!" She shot up from her own seat in an evident wince of pain. Her hands were placed firmly on the table as she leaned forward to meet Elle between the table. She glared her down. As pissed off as Beatrix was she was not going to let anger over take her. Instead she spoke in an eerily calm tone, over laced with venom, "And it's not MY fault you're a jealous, self centered, vindictive bitch."
O-Ren was sitting at the other end of the table, Beatrix and Elle opposite one another, Bill across from her. Her soft brown eyes darted between the two blondes. A look of amusement present on her face. "Home sweet home."
Bill's "good mood" vanished like smoke. He sat silently glowering up at the two women, his mouth in a tight line, hand curled murderously around his cup.
Elle met Beatrix gladly. She cocked her head angrily to the side, "Ohh...no..I don't think so Bea!" She pressed a long boney finger into Beatrix's chest, "Be what I may," Elle's voice shook with fury, "At least I'm not some naive, slutty, skanky ass, wanna be!" He eye narrowed, "You're a joke Bea! We all know why your REALLY here..." she snorted, "...and it aint to be a killer!" If one looked hard enough they could see the flash of hurt in Beatrix Kiddo's eyes. She blinked hard, her features turning hard and fierce, her mouth formed into a thin line. Her hand wiped out and snatched Elle by the collar, pulling her even closer and farther across the table, of course she accomplished this with a snake's accuracy. "Take that back," she hissed between clenched teeth.
Elle sneered, "No way in hell I'll take it back..." she spat....literally back at Beatrix. "Somebody had to tell you. You're just too damn ditzy to figure it out on your own, bitch." She grabbed Beatrix's hand twisting it around, so she gained the upper hand. Her other hand reached out, grabbing a lock of Beatrix's hair. "You wanna know what got you in here...." she yanked the chunk of blonde hair in front of Beatrix's eyes, ".....this lovely head of golden locks...nothing else...." Her eye narrowed into a deadly slit. "Sorry to break the news to ya."
Beatrix gritted her teeth together and eyes squinted together as the pulling of her hair was nowhere near enjoyment nor was her hand. Using her free hand, Bea snatched up a lock of Elle's own hair, yanking it hard in front of her face. "Look in the fucking mirror Elle cause we've got the same color locks. Says a lot for the both of us, don't it?" She sneered right back. Her knuckles turning white as she pulled harder on that chunk of hair out of pure anger and hostility. "Oh, and Elle--sorry to break the news to you but," her voice was pure venom and held no remorse. "You're a coward. You only say those things to cover up the fact that you 'envy' me. As ditzy as I can be, you only wish you could be half as talented as I am. And, to be cryptic about it, you never will be."
Elle screeched, "Not if I can help it!" Somehow from somewhere on her person she pulled out a small dagger, it's razor sharp blade gleamed off the midday sun. She reared back a look of pure mad fury on his face. "I'm gunna-" There was an extremely loud slam as Bill brought his fist down onto the table with an amazing amount of force...sending all remaining drinks, including all silver where and a vase, flying off the edges to shatter onto the tile floor. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" Bill roared into the following silence. He looked irate and that was a pretty scary thing on a man who killed people like he changed shirts.
Elle froze like a deer in headlights, her anger replaced by utter fear.
Bill's voice dropped to a deadly whisper, "Both of you, outside, now."
Beatrix held the same fearful expression as Elle though her fear was brought on by a mix of the exposed weapon and Bill's uproar. Both woman released their grip on one another's hair and slowly edged away from the table. Beatrix took another back step, fists clenched at her side in remaining anger, blue eyes watching Elle with heightened caution as she still had that sharpened weapon in hand. She turned and timid steps brought her outside. O-Ren had been watching all of this conspire with an expression of amusement and displeasure. The words the two blondes exchanged weren't right but they weren't wrong either. She was holding the ceramic cup of sake, delicately in her hand, as to be the only glass that did not break. She rose the cup to her lips and returned to drinking unphased.
As a boy, Bill had been raised for a number of years by a pimp named Estiban. Growing up, he had seen Estiban administer a number of nasty punishments to his whores. Bill had learned a great number of things from this older man. How to treat a woman. How to control her, how to teach her. As he had grown older, Bill had learned to pick and choose from those lessons. He knew now that he didn't agree with everything that Estiban had taught him but the essence of what he had been taught was still part of how he worked. Well, that and these women were trained to kill men not fuck them.That made a big difference.
Elle and Beatrix were standing on opposite sides of the patio. The tension was so thick between the two it almost seemed as if a sparking bolt of lighting connected them. Bill stood in the middle, looking across the dessert. He remained there motionless for sometime, ringed forefinger pressed to his lips. "I thought..." he began quietly, "...that I ran something called the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad not the Valley Bitch fucking High School!" He turned on them, " I thought you two were over this bullshit, apparently I was mistaken." He spun again, eyes cold, "And I don't want to hear one fucking word out of either of your months until I say so! Now, I have no idea where this little rivalry began and personally I don't give a shit. What I give a shit about is you doing your jobs and not getting killed. Not getting me killed! What happened last month was nearly a deadly a mistake we don't need to rehash that. But this is fucking ridiculous!" He threw his arms out. "Your killers, last I checked you were grown women. NOT FUCKING CHILDREN! CHRIST! I'm not some sort of babysitter." He trailed off, anger roiling over. "Now......" He looked at Beatrix, dark eyes boring into her, "....Kiddo....what the fuck is this about?" He held a finger up behind him as Elle opened her mouth. "Elle, shut the fuck up until it's your turn!" Bill raised an angry eyebrow, "Well?"
Beatrix stared at Bill in complete and utter loss for words. She blinked hard to refocus herself and come up with a good shit ass answer to his question. Her mouth closed, hands slipping to vacate in her pant pockets. She shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. Her tongue flicked out to dampen her extremely dry lips. Beatrix spoke up finally even if her thoughts weren't fully thought through, her tone soft, shaky, "Well, Bill, you see...Elle and I..I mean, I..I..was upset that Elle didn't have the-- courtesy to check on my condition this past month." She grit her teeth together and exhaled a breath through before settling back down and continuing, "I over reacted and let my anger get the best of my words and actions." She paused. Blue hues shot down to the ground to avoid sending another death glare in Elle's direction. Beatrix would never add an apology because it would be a lie. She could explain her actions to the best of her ability but never would she apologize for them.
It was definitely a good thing that Bill was facing Beatrix, because Elle probably would have flipped if she had seen the look on his face. Immediately his eyes softened in their depths a look of newfound respect surfaced. He didn't attempt to hide it, in fact, a small smile tugged at the side of his mouth. He continued to look at Beatrix with that look for a few seconds. In that look he wrapped up not only respect, but gratitude and perhaps even a good amount of desire. "Very well Kiddo...." despite the look on his face, his voice stayed completely neutral. He turned quickly to Elle. "You've heard what Beatrix has said. Now, what do you have to say for yourself Miss Driver?"
Elle looked exasperated. "I....I visited her! What the fuck does she expect?" Apparently Elle had been as surprised by Beatrix's reply as Bill, "She...she provoked me! She hates me Bill!" Her voice took on an annoying whiney tone. Bill said nothing. "I....shouldn't have pulled the knife...but the bitch deserves a good lesson," she snarled. "I've been around here allot longer than her.....she....she......" Obviously Elle really wanted to say something about Bill, but she couldn't bring herself to do it with him stranding in front of her. On the other hand, she wasn't about to do her usual throwing herself at him routine. She could tell that would be a very bad idea at the moment. "WELL SHIT!" She kicked at the dusty ground, "I just don't get it Bill! I really don't! Fuck her! I'm not going to apologize! I should have left her to die in that shitty truck!" With that she stomped off towards her red Corvette and making a very dramatic showing she squealed out of the driveway, an angry dust cloud remaining behind.
"Hrm, well--" Bill scratched his cheek, searching for words, "...that was...different."
"Bitch," Beatrix muttered in a blunt tone to herself as she heard the screeching of the car pulling away. Arms had crossed over her chest as Beatrix had listened to Elle's side of the story, if you could call that a side. Her eyes side glanced to Bill a moment before she canted her head in his direction. "Aye, it was," she spoke in agreement to his speculation. The fear left Beatrix's facial features leaving a mixture of warm and cold. A second before she had caught the glints in Bill's eyes and to be honest it sent a chill up her spine. But that was short lived and pushed to the back of her mind. A bare foot extended and placed down to the ground in a timid step towards him. She remained cautious with her actions and words knowing Bill may not completely have forgiven her if forgiveness was even an option. Her hand came up to touch at a sticky strand of blonde hair and she grimaced in displeasure. Her hand flopped back down to her side, her gaze now fully focused on Bill. "Am I excused?"
Bill looked at Beatrix, the same look from earlier brimming on the surface. "Yes......of course....." He said finally, he sounded a little distracted. As Beatrix turned, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, "Wait! Kiddo....that was...very mature. I may have underestimated you. I shouldn't have." A faint smile, "That was a mistake, on my part. I hope you keep surprising me. Very few people have surprised me, I rather like it." He let go of her wrist a little reluctantly and looked as if he was going to say something else, but changed his mind and fell silent. Now, that was 'different'. Slender brows raised a fraction an inch as Bill's confession of sorts registered in her mind. The wrist he had grabbed was now being cradled to her chest as if it were an exotic artifact not to be handled in such a manner. "You're welcome?" Her response was as unsure as she was. Beatrix took a step back and than turned to walk back into the house. "I'll be in the shower--again, if you need anything," she called back to him before entering inside. She passed O-Ren who was still sipping at her Sake, savoring it, as if nothing had happened. Beatrix wavered to ignore this and made haste down the hall. The closing of a door could be heard followed by the running of hot water.