madimpossibledreamer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2021-12-27 11:48 pm
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2021-12-27 11:48 pm
Entry tags:
off the books
Main Points:
Buffy/Yakuza AU
Chapter Summary: Riley has a job for Xander.
Word Count: 970
Rating: Teen
Warnings: hints at transphobia
He’s not Ria-chan at the moment, so the soldier from Iowa or his buddies doesn’t have to deal with that scenario. But he’s not the only one he employs, and there’s also the clear nonhumans on staff. They look really skittish when they’re assigned a table and hostesses, so he’s not entirely sure they’ve even experienced a cabaret before.
He takes it upon himself to personally go play waiter. It’s not like it’s the first time, and he’s pretty good at it.
He gets all their orders, not even writing them down ‘cause he doesn’t need it, and adds, “You know, if you’d contacted us sooner, you could’ve gotten one of the private rooms. We’re booked solid today.”
“Could we talk?” Riley, just the house beer, please, hisses, and Xander raises an eyebrow, confused.
“Sure, but, uh…if ya wanted a private meeting, paying for a table ain’t exactly the way to go.” He discreetly worries the inside of the mouth. Right now, he’s the manager, so he can’t go slipping into that informal way of speech.
“I…thought it’d be a little more like a restaurant,” Riley confesses, and Xander snorts.
Inwardly, he shrugs, and touches the rune discreetly carved into the wood of the table, closing his eye and activating it. Magic might not be his strong suit, but with Willow’s help he’s found that activating runes isn’t too hard. All he has to be is stubborn and be willing to push hard enough to give himself a migraine, which he practically does as a hobby anyway. “It’s not as clean as the magic in the private rooms, but it’ll do in a pinch.” Of course, it’s not like it’s designed to be utterly foolproof, since they might need to monitor for their employee’s safety, but it is a selling point for those wanting exclusive deals. Pretty much only the surveillance can get through, though if someone figured that out and replicated the spell, they might be able to do so, too. None of them react to anything other than his words, so they’re probably not magic-users, any of them.
“Excuse me, Manager, do you know them?” Ochi-san asks in Japanese.
He smirks in response. “This is Finn-san. He used to date Summers-sama.”
Ochi-san nods, light in her eyes, while Riley looks confused. That he knows Japanese, that she knows Buffy, whatever.
He adds, just in case, “She’s a Slayer. Dani-chan here is, uh, not, but I’d say she could wipe the floor with most of your soldiers without breaking a sweat.”
Dani flutters her eyelashes, grinning. “Aw, Manager-san, you say the sweetest things.” Honestly, he’s half-certain she assigned herself this table just to be contrary. Which he approves of, because he, too, is a contrary bastard.
If anything, one of the other soldiers, Thompson with the whiskey, looks even more scandalized by that. “You’re forcing a Slayer to work in a brothel?” he asks, even as Riley transfers the glare to him, and Xander grins, knowing he looks even more terrifying, because that’s one of Majima’s unhinged looks.
“Many host clubs and hostess clubs do have a hint of sex work about them, even if it’s not stated outright. Mine is what it says up front—you are paying to have a good conversation. I can’t say no one’s dated a client, but the numbers are low and not dictated by pay.” He leans forward, and Thompson involuntarily leans back.
“Could you maybe stop scaring my men, please?” Riley’s intimidated, too, but he’s better about plowing past that fear.
“Giles-sama gets…sensitive about that,” Ochi-san points out sensibly, and he beams with pride. He might look a little more demented than normal. It’s hard to say.
“Yer damn right I do! If any of my employees are gettin’ some, it’s on their own terms and no one else’s!” But—hey, is this a tangent? “So, you’re not actually here for a conversation, are you? I should kick you out.”
Riley looks like he’s regretting getting up today. “I really should’ve listened when Willow said I’d need tips for talking to you.” It’s said more to himself than anything.
“Yep.” He can be proud of that, too, he decides.
“Okay.” Riley decides to stop beating around the bush, which was pretty much what he was after all along. “We managed to move most of the things from the old Initiative base to another army bunker. One of our duties is checking it once a year, to make sure nothing was taken. A few days ago we went in, and the lock was broken. If it was someone in the army, they shouldn’t have to break in, since while it’s not easy to get the key, I don’t think it’s probably difficult, either. If it was someone outside, I’m not sure why our investigation is being hampered. Our superior got reassigned, and we’re not even being allowed to call in outside aid, or I’d have officially requested Buffy, not you.”
“That is, like, the least motivational speech I’ve ever heard, but it’s been quiet and I’ve been getting bored,” Dani, breaking out the champagne, chimes in, and Xander smiles again, the baring of a hyena’s fangs.
“Just, if you can’t scrounge up some kind of pay, at least cover your tab, Finn.” He stands smoothly, bows. He’s gotten a pretty good ratio of confused faces from the man so far. He’ll count that a personal victory, but the next step is consulting with his two co-lieutenants. They’re the idea people anyway.
Buffy/Yakuza AU
Chapter Summary: Riley has a job for Xander.
Word Count: 970
Rating: Teen
Warnings: hints at transphobia
Xander—and Ria-chan, honestly—had behaved themselves around Captain Cornfed. They’d even been playing it tame, doing tricks on command, like good little boys and girls. So it’s clear Riley-kun isn’t ready for Sanctuary when he and a bunch of his boys—and that’s gotta be Sam, his wife—drop by.
He’s not Ria-chan at the moment, so the soldier from Iowa or his buddies doesn’t have to deal with that scenario. But he’s not the only one he employs, and there’s also the clear nonhumans on staff. They look really skittish when they’re assigned a table and hostesses, so he’s not entirely sure they’ve even experienced a cabaret before.
He takes it upon himself to personally go play waiter. It’s not like it’s the first time, and he’s pretty good at it.
He gets all their orders, not even writing them down ‘cause he doesn’t need it, and adds, “You know, if you’d contacted us sooner, you could’ve gotten one of the private rooms. We’re booked solid today.”
“Could we talk?” Riley, just the house beer, please, hisses, and Xander raises an eyebrow, confused.
“Sure, but, uh…if ya wanted a private meeting, paying for a table ain’t exactly the way to go.” He discreetly worries the inside of the mouth. Right now, he’s the manager, so he can’t go slipping into that informal way of speech.
“I…thought it’d be a little more like a restaurant,” Riley confesses, and Xander snorts.
Inwardly, he shrugs, and touches the rune discreetly carved into the wood of the table, closing his eye and activating it. Magic might not be his strong suit, but with Willow’s help he’s found that activating runes isn’t too hard. All he has to be is stubborn and be willing to push hard enough to give himself a migraine, which he practically does as a hobby anyway. “It’s not as clean as the magic in the private rooms, but it’ll do in a pinch.” Of course, it’s not like it’s designed to be utterly foolproof, since they might need to monitor for their employee’s safety, but it is a selling point for those wanting exclusive deals. Pretty much only the surveillance can get through, though if someone figured that out and replicated the spell, they might be able to do so, too. None of them react to anything other than his words, so they’re probably not magic-users, any of them.
“Excuse me, Manager, do you know them?” Ochi-san asks in Japanese.
He smirks in response. “This is Finn-san. He used to date Summers-sama.”
Ochi-san nods, light in her eyes, while Riley looks confused. That he knows Japanese, that she knows Buffy, whatever.
He adds, just in case, “She’s a Slayer. Dani-chan here is, uh, not, but I’d say she could wipe the floor with most of your soldiers without breaking a sweat.”
Dani flutters her eyelashes, grinning. “Aw, Manager-san, you say the sweetest things.” Honestly, he’s half-certain she assigned herself this table just to be contrary. Which he approves of, because he, too, is a contrary bastard.
If anything, one of the other soldiers, Thompson with the whiskey, looks even more scandalized by that. “You’re forcing a Slayer to work in a brothel?” he asks, even as Riley transfers the glare to him, and Xander grins, knowing he looks even more terrifying, because that’s one of Majima’s unhinged looks.
“Many host clubs and hostess clubs do have a hint of sex work about them, even if it’s not stated outright. Mine is what it says up front—you are paying to have a good conversation. I can’t say no one’s dated a client, but the numbers are low and not dictated by pay.” He leans forward, and Thompson involuntarily leans back.
“Could you maybe stop scaring my men, please?” Riley’s intimidated, too, but he’s better about plowing past that fear.
“Giles-sama gets…sensitive about that,” Ochi-san points out sensibly, and he beams with pride. He might look a little more demented than normal. It’s hard to say.
“Yer damn right I do! If any of my employees are gettin’ some, it’s on their own terms and no one else’s!” But—hey, is this a tangent? “So, you’re not actually here for a conversation, are you? I should kick you out.”
Riley looks like he’s regretting getting up today. “I really should’ve listened when Willow said I’d need tips for talking to you.” It’s said more to himself than anything.
“Yep.” He can be proud of that, too, he decides.
“Okay.” Riley decides to stop beating around the bush, which was pretty much what he was after all along. “We managed to move most of the things from the old Initiative base to another army bunker. One of our duties is checking it once a year, to make sure nothing was taken. A few days ago we went in, and the lock was broken. If it was someone in the army, they shouldn’t have to break in, since while it’s not easy to get the key, I don’t think it’s probably difficult, either. If it was someone outside, I’m not sure why our investigation is being hampered. Our superior got reassigned, and we’re not even being allowed to call in outside aid, or I’d have officially requested Buffy, not you.”
“That is, like, the least motivational speech I’ve ever heard, but it’s been quiet and I’ve been getting bored,” Dani, breaking out the champagne, chimes in, and Xander smiles again, the baring of a hyena’s fangs.
“Just, if you can’t scrounge up some kind of pay, at least cover your tab, Finn.” He stands smoothly, bows. He’s gotten a pretty good ratio of confused faces from the man so far. He’ll count that a personal victory, but the next step is consulting with his two co-lieutenants. They’re the idea people anyway.