Just a language warning. Enjoy!
Note: I don't own -Man
The snow had begun to fall over the Budapest cityscape. As the snow fell people scurried back and forth in an attempt to get to any place warm, many of them running into the large beer house, which was the largest area in that section of town. It wasn't a bad place to seek shelter, as there was always some sort of festivity going on there.
This night was no different, as the sudden winter blast had filled the place to the brim with people drinking, dancing, and talking away in jovial tones. The place held such a magnetic and exciting atmosphere that the sight of a red haired exorcist general lounging in a corner surrounded by a band of women was no surprise.
Honestly, this was the perfect place for someone like Cross Marian who swung so precariously between being completely sanguine and utterly sardonic that it was a little scary. The ladies, however, didn't really care which extreme Cross leaned toward so long as he had the money. Of course his answer to that particular situation was always the same.
"Another round on me!" he proclaimed cheerfully as he raised his (now empty) tankard.
"Are you sure, Mr. Cross?" one of the ladies to his left asked. Cross merely laughed.
"Of course! After all, my assistants are picking up the tab tonight!" Now, when Cross said 'assistants' he certainly didn't mean anyone willing to be in the situation. That point was illustrated by well enough. At the opposite end of the table, Cross's two 'assistants' sat tied to their seats, which was apparently a way to keep them from weaseling their way out of the bill.
By the ashen skin tone it was clear that Cross was detaining two Noah, who at the moment, were hating Cross as much as their decision to wake up that morning. As Cross continued to pile on the charges the two could merely watch, Devitto looking more disgruntled than usual while Jasdero hung his head morosely. Coincidently it was the Noah's' silence that caught Cross' attention.
"Why so down, boys? It's a party so try to cheer up a little," Cross said with a wide grin.
"Fuck you, Cross," Devitto growled. This cause the general to laugh nefariously.
"Now, now, is that appropriate language for children?" Cross scolded. "For that you'll pay the hotel to," he added with a smirk. Devitto was about to take a jab at the exorcist for that, but Jasdero managed to hit him in the face with his lantern, effectively silencing him. The last thing they need was more debt. Surely they were catching up with Allen at this point.
"Hmm, maybe you wouldn't feel so irritable if you had something to eat," as he casually pushed a plate of meat toward them. The twins merely stared at the plate as while thinking of more colorful expletives they could throw at Cross for blatantly overlooking the obvious (the fact that he was doing it all on purpose was over course over looked at the moment…).
"What's wrong? Not hungry?" Cross asked innocently, cocking his head to one side in (almost) honest confusion.
"Well, it may just be me, but it's fairly impossible to eat when you're tied to a chair," Devitto replied with an equal amount of feigned innocence.
"But I can't untie you," Cross said, appearing to think. "I guess that means I'm just gonna have to feed you," h concluded with a sigh as he rose.
"WHAT?!" Devitto and Jasdero yelled. "What the hell do you think we are bastard, five?! We can feed ourselves!"
"I don't know about that," Cross replied as he skewered a bite sized piece of meat. "You seem a little indisposed at the moment. Besides, I'm a nice guy, so I just wanna help out." However just as Cross was about to kill the last bit of dignity that the twins felt they had, another interesting presence entered the beer house.
The well dressed man seemed just a bit out of place considering the section of town, but it was brushed off by many of the patrons. He was probably just trying to escape the storm like everyone else. After all, he didn't seem uncomfortable in the establishment, or at least he wasn't yet. That changed the moment he looked up and saw an exorcist general hovering over two young Noah.
Needless to say the party in question noticed the new comer as well, and for once it appeared that the twin's luck had changed. "Oh my god, Tyki, I never thought I'd actually be happy to see you," Devitto said with a grin.
"Save us, Tyki!" Jasdero pleaded. Tyki Mikk had certainly not been expecting this when he came looking for Cross. Not only had he found the general, but he had also found the two biggest pains in his neck. Needless to say he couldn't tell if he had been lucky or not, but he wasn't interested in a confrontation with the twins over trying to steal Cross from them so he merely turned and began to walk toward the door.
"Tyki, you stupid vagabond! Get your ass back here and help us!" God… what did he see in that kid he wondered with a disgruntled huff.
"Oh my, another Noah! I seem to have gotten myself into quite a little mess, haven't I?" Cross said with a half smile. Oddly this got Tyki to stop and turn around. He normally wouldn't let himself get goaded into a confrontation, but he didn't intend to stick around long enough for anything to get ugly.
"Please, I have no business with you, exorcist," Tyki replied evenly. "Even though I don't want to I just need to pick up a few things," he continued as he grabbed the back of the other two Noah's chairs and dragged them along behind him. Cross grinned. He knew this wasn't a normal reaction for a Noah. Something else must be going on.
"Well, aren't I getting off easy?" Tyki laughed.
"Maybe before you worry about a fight with any of us, you should think about your disciple first." Cross' eyes narrowed at that little challenge.
"What's that supposed to mean, Noah?" he asked with a slight hiss. Tyki turned and grinned viciously.
"Why don't you find out?"
AN: Hi everyone! I'm back! I had to choose a story to update so I went with this one. Sorry that this chapter is a little dry, but I think it's a good bridge. Thanks for being patient over the wait and I really hope it was worth it =)