To Be Prepared

[madimpossibledreamer]

For the time being, my posting schedule's going to be completely messed up as I'm posting things as I finish them....blargh.  I'm still not 100% and this sucks.
I first wrote Dani in a part not yet posted, and the first thing I posted with her was the last part I started (Aoki-chan, How the Miyamoto Family Stole Christmas), so go figure.
~Dreamer~

Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU, Follow-up to Favors
Chapter Summary: Xander gets together his team for following up on the favor to Ethan.
Word Count: 940
Rating: Teen

 

          It’s rare that Xander gets to go all out, and it’s such a rush.  It takes on just a little more of that manic Majima touch since the voices in his head are yappin’ like a pack of feral dogs or a cackle of hyenas ever since the cursed chaos sorcerer popped his head back in unwanted, and he needs something to clear his head.  Fortunately, dealing with his shit involves just that, kicking in the faces of the others mucking around in the mud.  He ends up calling on Dani-chan for a little play-date.  She enjoys breaking teeth as much as he does.  Andrew invites himself along.
          He’s half sure he only accepted Andrew because the whole popping up out of nowhere thing was an odd bit of nostalgia.  That, and he’d barely batted an eye at the whole Ria-chan thing.  And there was a bit of Nishida about the way he agreed to practically everything.  3 AM donuts?  Sure thing, boss!  Gimme a beautiful dress?  Lemme at ‘em.  He’s pretty sure if he asked Andrew to fake a zombie invasion or lay down so he could step on him with heels Annie-chan would go along with it.  Maybe it’s cruel, taking advantage of a clear crush, but he’s heard a little of the path the younger man had been heading down, and it stank worse than waiting around in a trash can for Kiryu-chan for a few days (and nah, that ain’t anythin’ t’ dwell on).  Point is, Andrew just has one of those obsessive-style personalities, an’ if it hadn’t been him, it’d ‘a been some other goon, maybe one that wouldn’t take care ‘a Annie-chan, the way he deserves.  As the boss, he’s got a duty, anyhow, ta look after the kid.  Just like the weird way he’ll sometimes feel a…a shadow.  A memory.  Just a whisper in his ear, sometimes, like Majima would’ve liked him, if they’d met.  Like he sees Xander as part of his Family.  He’ll whale on his boys, but he takes his protective, patriarch duties seriously.  Between Oton and Annie-chan and the shadow of Majima in Xander’s head, he’s actually vaguely taking care of himself the way Majima would never do on his own, because he’s a total hypocrite.  Sometimes Xander’ll still get headaches, or flashbacks.
          Dani-chan shows up in a cute enough exercising outfit he thinks he’s seen on Buffy before.  He flashes his teeth in a smile, but it’s more like a friendly baring of the fangs.  She gets it, anyhow.  “You’re looking cute today,” he greets her, and she shakes her head at him, flattered all the same.
          “You’re a real sweet-talker, you know.”  She’s decided to follow his example and bring a bat to the fight.  He’d brought the dagger he’d threatened Ethan with, figuring if it was enough to give a chaos sorcerer the shivers, it’d be good enough for a demon-summoning sex cult.
          “Aw, but you know I mean every word,” he whines, grinning, and then gets just a little bit more serious when he thinks about why they’re there.  “Okay, so it’s a demon-summoning sex cult, apparently the distinction between succubi and incubi is a human construction, and they’ve been feeding on the local townsfolk since they were summoned.  Sending them to the hospital is perfectly acceptable, and we might have to tear through a few sex demons.  They’re slowly drawing on everyone, even the ones that left the cult, so Ethan’ll die if we don’t do anything.  Not that I much care, but he’s promised us a nice, swanky pad if we help, and I’ve always wanted a nice, swanky pad.”
          “Hey, I was on board the second you said ‘demon-summoning sex cult’.  I’m good for beating up a few.”  He’d expected that from Dani-chan.
          “I was in when you called me,” Andrew agrees, and Dani cuffs him on the shoulder affectionately.  It’s hard to tell whether he’s trying to one-up her or not.  And, to be fair, he hadn’t invited him.  He’d only gotten to ‘so some celebratory baked goods would be swell’ when Andrew had invited himself.  But whatever, he’s still showin’ some initiative, even if it’s just trying to impress him still.  “I’ve got a spell that’s supposed to protect us from the temptation.  I tried to test it, but…”
          “Aaand that’s enough of that.”  Dani-chan laughs, Andrew shrinking back a little, and—well, that’s a good point.  He doesn’t need to know any of the specifics, but at the same time, he does need to know whether Annie-chan thinks it’ll work.
          “A rehearsal ain’t the same as the real deal?  Ya certifyin’ yer work there, Annie-chan?”  That’s the main thing, honestly.  The main holdover.  Maybe someone’d say it’s the violence, or the mood swings, but those felt more—he doesn’t know, like having a shared history.  Both could just be the PTSD, anyhow.  He’s working on it, but he can’t exactly escape the violence or nothin’.  It’s a world wonder none of ‘em cracked years ago.  But the accent, the ridiculous fake translation of Kansai-ben, it’ll just pop up now and then like he’s giving Kiryu a surprise.  Maybe if it was consistent, it wouldn’t feel so annoyin’ now, but they’ve all adapted, taken it in stride like it’s totally normal.  ‘Course, at this point, it is.
          “That’s…pretty much, yeah, but this one was recommended, and I definitely practiced casting it, so you can count on me!”  Nishida.  Seriously.  Makes him wonder, now.  They were both so eager to please, after all.
          “Do yer thing, then.”  He’s antsy, waiting like this, but it’s better to wait, just to be sure.