After Yazoo had left, Genesis lowered his pen, eyes still on the inventory sheet, but his attention drifting away. Were it any chance for him to do so, he would have refused this recent order. Hojo's behavior towards his waiter made him alerted. He showed up in the bar every night, ordering his damned Sauvignon Blanc, keeping them busy no matter how many guests they had. In Genesis' opinion, the bouquet of the wine suited him perfectly. A good Sauvignon Blanc always has the characteristic smell of cat urine. And nettle. The way he chatted with Yazoo was almost of a stalker, and the situation got worse with every day. Not that he'd mentioned anything sexual or touched the boy. No, he knew better than that. He touched only the counter and his glass, the later with trembling fingers and sometimes with even more trembling tounge. His sweaty palms left shiny marks on the counter, which Genesis was so picky about. The Lead Bartender hated to admit that his tips were nice, moreover, they were exaggerated, expressing need for extra attention. Sadly enough, the professor proved to be their best customer in this cruise. This was the first time in his carrier that Genesis Rhapsodos wanted to get rid of a generous tipping guest whose behavior still fitted society's rules.
The doctor didn't mind others' opinion about his manners, he was way too busy with his growing obsession over Yazoo. Sometimes Genesis just watched him from behind the counter, how the officer eyeraped the silver-haired barwaiter. As if waiting for the opportunity. Luckily enough he got drunk every night before any could have emerged. Yazoo never looked worried or annoyed about his stalker or anything else though. While letting him sign his check, the youth managed to curve a smile of appreciation. Surely he was a professional. That memory reminded Genesis to act like a professional himself as well, and he picked up the phone once again, this time to dial the barboy assigned to his current bar. Mentioning a few extra gils he told him to finish the preparations since Yazoo got busy. He checked the watch on the wall, and decided to call the Medical Center in fifteen minutes if his subordinate would not return until then.
There was no chance for the professor to leave the Medical Center this night, Yazoo learned that earlier from a sailor's gossip. He had to watch over two guests, father and daughter, who were carried back to the ship unconscious. Priest Angeal Hewley and his daughter only wanted to try some rare local food ashore, but picked the wrong restaurant. Actually, they got what they asked for, only the speciality proved to be lot more special than expected. It was their sheer luck that a crew member caught sight of the awkwardly dazy figures in the separé of the restaurant, and a bunch of sailors managed to rescue the small family before getting robbed and/or killed. While returning to the ship they lost all remains of their conciences, and the doctor took care of them. He reassured the worried captain that they would be fine, only knocked out, but in no real danger. After a long, dreamless sleep they would be OK. Relying on his words, the captain ordered departure, and had forbidden to all involved crew members to tell anyone what happened. Hewley's friends were informed about some diarrhea, which kept them away from the Medical Center. The rest was left to the local police to care about.
Although busy with his duties, the professior didn't want to refrain from his usual wine and usual barserver.
What he didn't know was that Yazoo already learned how to handle scum without getting into trouble. Catering might be a challenging profession, yet a better choice than staying home forever, facing the growing darkness around and inside of him. The CV Yazoo had applied for a job onboard with was completely fictional, made up by his younger brother, who was blessed and cursed with a vivid imagination his brother could finally made a use of. Yazoo had no previous bar experience apart from some drinking, dancing, flirting, and eventually seducing the owner of a club, for his business stamp and signature. He needed them to justify Baby Brother's fiction, otherwise the cruise company would have kicked him out with a short laugh.
Yazoo was not stupid or blind enough to ignore the unhealthy level of interest towards himself, but meeting the doctor in public was harmless. Unlike a téte-á-téte. Still, he was far from being worried, and he had his good reasons. He wanted to leave home to get away from his demons, although he couldn't leave his legacy behind. In people, Yazoo saw more than Genesis. Not just actions but the motives as well, the very stimuli, the basic of insincts, desires and impetus. He was born like that, with the special talent to dig in souls' dirt, finding either treasures or rotting corpses.
Genesis could only tell that the old uncle wanted the boy. Yazoo could also tell how he wanted him. In which exact, wicked, sick way. However, instead of scaring him away, this pulled him closer to Hojo. Those demons within he wanted to tame were feeding on those dark desires, giving him free hand to handle the problem.
So the oblivious doctor let the hunter enter his medical empire that day, not the prey. To blame, he had only himself.
„Good afternoon, Professor Hojo." No actress on Gaia could have managed a more fitting, obliging smile while stepping on the stage. „Nice to see you."