The Bare Bones

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU, follow-up to Building the Future
Chapter Summary: Sanctuary is beginning to come together.
Word Count: 1030
Rating: Teen

         Xander doesn’t bother slowing his step as he walks through the site, hard hat still jammed firmly on his head.  He’s finally wearing the Hawaiian shirt he’d wanted to wear this entire time, sweat and grime making him feel like he’ll never be clean again.  It feels nice, open shirt showing off the tats, the slight sea breeze, the spray when he’s next to the water.  As a California boy’s standards go, the beach is absolutely pathetic, a little too rocky, but at least it’s a little sheltered by a rocky outcropping, and as far as any of them can tell, there’s no particularly dangerous wildlife around.  The daredevil in him calls that a pity, because wrestling a shark would be a hell of a story, but most of him says that that’s absolutely bonkers if only because Willow and Buffy both would put him in time out for ages and he’d be really, really bored.  So far, he likes what he sees, though it could stand to be more crowded.  The portals are in place, too, reinforced carefully.  One by the beach, straight into the rock.  Xander gives it an affectionate wave as he passes, even though nobody’s coming through.  Andrew follows at a quick pace, likewise looking ridiculous in an unneeded hard hat, his faithful Nishida, up for any sort of stupid stunts he might arrange, and not batting an eye at his boss acting eccentric.  Well, why should he?  It’s normal enough, after all.
         They’d leveled out an area near the natural beach, and it occurs to him that he might just be able to leverage his connection to the new Council there.  He’s thinking a market, one of the ones that might not necessarily be a black market, but maybe grey.  Not selling anything that could actually hurt people, not really, but a sort of ‘allow us to inspect your goods and you’ll basically get Council approval and freedom from Slayer harrassment’ sort of deal.  A little sketchy, maybe, but then, he ain’t trying to be Kiryu.  He can do his best to regulate it, to keep it from hurting people.  He’s got more work to do, here, if he wants that—a warehouse with different areas for merchants to rent, maybe, separate so there’s no accusations of theft.  Places for the merchants to stay, if they wanted.
         From here, a bit of an underground garden, some bridges and water and ever-blooming lilies, courtesy of Willow.  She’d called him in the middle of the night babbling about them, and she wasn’t wrong, they were really pretty, particularly when they glowed at night.  Technically, he didn’t even need the lanterns, but installed them anyway, lily petals cut and placed inside the lanterns filled with water.  She’d also managed to source him some trees to line the sides, artfully dotted here and there, though she hadn’t mentioned what kind they were.  Not pine, cherry, or plum, and that’s all he knows, though they look like they fit the theme well enough.  She’d acted like she’d mentioned it, but he’s pretty sure she just forgot, and it’s not that big a deal.  He can always make it up if needed.  The sights don't include the ladies in cages.  Even if they're here willingly, the optics of it ain't great, and even the one-eyed man could see that.
         Then, on the right, the skeleton of the cabaret.  The outside’s all done, but it needs furnishings—and staff, of course.  Still looks amazing, and he feels a sense of pride, looking at it.  Fancy, but approachable, too.  As much as he’d liked the aesthetics of the Grand—he’d decorated that himself, and as prisons go, it wasn’t bad—it was still a little too rich for some people’s blood.  He wants people to feel at home. 
         The second portal here’s a work of art, too—a secondary entrance disguised as a door that actually connects to multiple doorways, just so they can get international customers, some who might not know about the supernatural.  There’s even a delay, if someone’s in the way, but not one anyone would notice.  He’d checked that one out himself.  Plus a sudden hankering for home can get him straight to L.A.  He’s going to be obnoxious and send Angel a ton of postcards advertising the shit outta opening day.
         A stair, a gate, and a discouragement spell later, and there’s the quarters, headquarters, and training ground for the Slayers.  It’s large, and he’s not even using most of the island, but can always expand later.  Most of it’s the central courtyard for sparring.  Dani-chan will definitely love that bit, as will a lot of the Slayers (even Buffy, though she’ll argue she’s not).  And with the third portal here, getting to the Council HQ’s easy enough.
         As for feeding, maybe the market, mostly, combined with some shopping through the highly convenient portals.  Some fishing, but it ain’t like the sea’s full or anything.  The cabaret’ll have the usual food, but it’s not like it’s exactly a meal.  And of course he made a kitchen, but unlike Buffy, he’ll make them cook.  Not all the time, and they can have help, but he’s not going to buy them all a bunch of junk food all the time, much as he wants to eat that himself.
         A little area for relaxation, a pond, a room with bookshelves if no books—well, not many, anyhow.  Andrew placed his entire comic collection to fill out the bookshelves on account of them looking lonely, on the express condition that they stay in good condition.  Honestly, he’s fairly certain that means nobody will read them, but hey, it still looks better.
         As he turns around at the end, he realizes he’s been narrating all of his thoughts out loud, seems like, as Annie-chan, it appears, has been scribbling everything down on a notepad.  Still glad he’s got Andrew, as such a capable assistant.  Glancing over the notes, though, he sees the MY KITCHEN underlined and capitalized, and flashes him an embarrassed smile.
         “Yeah, but you gotta force ‘em to cut veggies or somethin’.  Gotta have discipline, ya know?”
         Andrew grins back impishly.