[Maybe she shouldn't be doing this. Maybe it is a textbook example of picking your battles, the kind of mole hill that doesn't need to become a mountain. Maybe their exchange should have stayed as a playful series of texts, something silly and flirty on the tail-end of an experiment hosted in her kitchen (unsupervised) that she was just genuinely glad didn't turn into a 119 call. Maybe going so far as to tell Bandou she was busy for the night just to go about planning to catch him off-guard while he'd been inevitably sentenced to washing dishes in the HOMRA kitchenette is a little childish.
Then again, this is a far more measured response than the last man who underestimated her got. No army deployment this time, no uprising, no arrests. Just Youko sneaking in behind Kamamoto with his bussed glasses, seamlessly trading the cover of the largest member of their gang for ducking down behind the counter at Bandou's back, well below his line-of-sight. Really utilizing how short he helpfully pointed out she is while waiting for her moment.]
[Dish duty. Why does Kusanagi always give him dish duty? He could serve drinks. Maybe not mix them, but what could be so difficult about walking a newly poured, pricey alcoholic treat across a busy, low lit bar? Kusanagi could just mix up another if he spilled it, right? It doesn't make any damn sense to give the guy who'd be the first one to do so the task of cleaning up multiple fragile glasses with slippery, soaped up hands. Ones he has to rearrange on the drying mat multiple times just to fit all the varying sizes and shapes together. Kusanagi's just asking for the sound of a huge crash to reverberate though the back room.
At least hes almost done. Just one more glass to precariously place on the mat and he'll be free to shed this wet, soapy kitchen apron and get a drink of his own! Until Kamamoto arrives with a new tray. There aren't too many. But Bandou's gonna groan in protest nonetheless.]
Are you kidding me??
[Kamamoto can't help but chuckle at Bandou's predictable reaction before he leaves his comrade to it. He sure as hell doesn't wanna be caught back here when something inevitably breaks.]
[That all-too-predictable and familiar protest at the freshly deposited tray of dirty glasses makes the corners of her mouth turn up, his poor luck of the draw working nicely to her advantage as a distraction. Watching Kamamoto vacate the area, she waits a few extra moments before shifting her balance until she is poised on her toes, ready to move as soon as the grumbling ends and the scrubbing resumes.
Not that she isn't anticipating supplying him with a whole new host of complaints from the millisecond she lays hands on him.]
[The scrubbing has resumed, but that doesn't mean the grumbling ceases. If anything, it gives enough sound cover for Youko to put a little less effort into being stealthy, if she needs to. He's giving the stubborn spots that litter the bottom of this particular glass a stern talking to. What the hell was this person drinking that got it so dirty over the course of maybe a half hour, tops? If Kusanagi wasn't dangling an allowance an under the table pay check over his head for this job, he'd have walked out by now.]
[A slight miscalculation, she realizes, as his grumbling evolves and he lays into one of the glasses. While the additional noise is a windfall, she has no intention of relaxing because of it. 'Easy' isn't in the plan. Even if it is silly — and there is no mistaking it is — what pride Youko has in how far she has come since that first fight feels a little scuffed. Proving to Bandou that she isn't just talk, that she is capable, reliable in the rough spaces HOMRA occupies, will hopefully smooth that feeling the rest of the way away. Like she told him, she'd get over it after she caught him.
Taking a steadying breath, she moves out from behind the counter, keeping low to the ground as she swiftly clears the handful of feet between them, until she's situated behind him. If she were a little taller and he weren't wearing his ever trusty sunglasses, this is where she could surprise him by clapping her hands over his eyes. Not having that option, she goes for the next best thing and springs up to catch him around the middle, arms tightening as soon as she has contact.]
[The yelp that pounce gets may have been louder than any clattering dishes! As well as the cursing that ensues while he scrambles to regain his grasp on the soapy highball glass he'd been scrubbing. It's only when it settles in his hands that he's able to process the voice he'd heard. He peeks down at the arms wrapped tightly around his middle and heaves a heavy breath.]
Youko? Why'd you jump me like that? I could have dropped this!
[He wants to sound angry, but it just can't come out like that around her. Cause he damn well would have laid into Shouhei if he tried to pull something like that off!]
[Despite the yelping and the swearing and the fumbling, there is no shattering glass which means she doesn't need to bow her head, apologize to and reimburse Kusanagi like she had been braced for. A very clean and clear success. She gives Bandou an extra squeeze, leaning slightly to one side to grin at him, triumphant.]
Isn't it obvious?
[She adjusts her hold just enough for her fingertips tap against his covered mark.]
[Without the tippy-tapping, her hands feel quite nice resting over his insignia. But, no! He can't get all dopey and smiley over this. She just got the one up in him!]
Yeah well, this one doesn't count as a win cause I wasn't given time to try to escape.
[It doesn't count? That tempers her smile. Youko leans more bodily against him, trading the hold on Bandou for the edge of the sink, her hands bracketing him in while her voice drops into that lower register. Provocation, a challenge in each round syllable.]
[It's official. Bandou Saburouta liking dominant women has been confirmed. If there weren't in the back of the bar right now, he may have already given up on his potential, but very unlikely, win and let Youko do as she wishes with her prisoner.
But, no! He has to focus on showing her up! Or, at the very least, impress her with his own skills. And he has to think of how to do so fast, cause apparently there's a time limit he's mentally set for himself.
Right now there's two options he can see. One: Slip down and duck under her arms. But, it might prove difficult due to their height difference and he'd most likely end up blurting out another comment on her short stature, worsening the predicament he got himself into. Two: Quickly hoist himself up onto the edge of the sink and jump over her. The better of the two options, but it also exponentially increases the potential for glass breakage.
Damn it. He's already lost, he thinks before a third option pops into mind. What if he used the very same thing that got this whole ordeal started? Smirking to himself, he decides to go for it. A scare tactic! The moment Bandou gently places the glass into the sink's basin, he allows his Aura to spark up around the areas she isn't in contact with him. If he's successful in getting her to back up in shock, he'll have his moment to run!]
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im faster and taller than you
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because last i checked you haven't sparred with me.
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but ive got a lot of practice fighting too
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im sorry!!
youre not actually mad right??!
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right after i catch you.
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you'll probably find a way to juggle both.
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cause youre sexy no matter what youre doing!
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i cant help it if my gf is the sexiest one around!
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fast-forwarding a bit
Then again, this is a far more measured response than the last man who underestimated her got. No army deployment this time, no uprising, no arrests. Just Youko sneaking in behind Kamamoto with his bussed glasses, seamlessly trading the cover of the largest member of their gang for ducking down behind the counter at Bandou's back, well below his line-of-sight. Really utilizing how short he helpfully pointed out she is while waiting for her moment.]
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At least hes almost done. Just one more glass to precariously place on the mat and he'll be free to shed this wet, soapy kitchen apron and get a drink of his own! Until Kamamoto arrives with a new tray. There aren't too many. But Bandou's gonna groan in protest nonetheless.]
Are you kidding me??
[Kamamoto can't help but chuckle at Bandou's predictable reaction before he leaves his comrade to it. He sure as hell doesn't wanna be caught back here when something inevitably breaks.]
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Not that she isn't anticipating supplying him with a whole new host of complaints from the millisecond she lays hands on him.]
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an allowancean under the table pay check over his head for this job, he'd have walked out by now.]no subject
Taking a steadying breath, she moves out from behind the counter, keeping low to the ground as she swiftly clears the handful of feet between them, until she's situated behind him. If she were a little taller and he weren't wearing his ever trusty sunglasses, this is where she could surprise him by clapping her hands over his eyes. Not having that option, she goes for the next best thing and springs up to catch him around the middle, arms tightening as soon as she has contact.]
Washing dishes again?
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Youko? Why'd you jump me like that? I could have dropped this!
[He wants to sound angry, but it just can't come out like that around her. Cause he damn well would have laid into Shouhei if he tried to pull something like that off!]
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Isn't it obvious?
[She adjusts her hold just enough for her fingertips tap against his covered mark.]
I've caught you.
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That's not fair. I didn't know you were actually gonna try!
[Let's be real though, she would have gotten him either way.]
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Talking about having you at my mercy isn't exactly ambiguous, Saburouta.
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Yeah well, this one doesn't count as a win cause I wasn't given time to try to escape.
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Then put the glass down. You can try now.
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But, no! He has to focus on showing her up! Or, at the very least, impress her with his own skills. And he has to think of how to do so fast, cause apparently there's a time limit he's mentally set for himself.
Right now there's two options he can see. One: Slip down and duck under her arms. But, it might prove difficult due to their height difference and he'd most likely end up blurting out another comment on her short stature, worsening the predicament he got himself into. Two: Quickly hoist himself up onto the edge of the sink and jump over her. The better of the two options, but it also exponentially increases the potential for glass breakage.
Damn it. He's already lost, he thinks before a third option pops into mind. What if he used the very same thing that got this whole ordeal started? Smirking to himself, he decides to go for it. A scare tactic! The moment Bandou gently places the glass into the sink's basin, he allows his Aura to spark up around the areas she isn't in contact with him. If he's successful in getting her to back up in shock, he'll have his moment to run!]
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