A Place To Belong

Kay nodded, "Yeah she come in here all the time. Well when she's not modeling." She said and went to work on the drink. It literally took her two shakes and the drink was ready. "Here ya go, you lucked out she's a good tipper if you treat her right." She said and set the drink on a trat.

Ukyo rolled up with a few more orders. "Got three refills of coca cola for table twenty two." She rolled over to the kitchen. "Yo Cupid I have three orders of wings!" She hollered back

A voice piped up from behind the wall. "What flavor?!" Cupid shouted back.

Ukyo cupped her hands around her mouth. "Toxic Waste!" She called back.

Kay leaned close before Hibari left. "We'll fill you in on the rest of the menu after we close at one!" She said

Someone had gotten up on stage. It seemed that it was Karaoke night. The man started to sing the theme from the old movie Titanic. WAY off key.

Hibari..ignored the horrible singing. She had heard worse, but she had heard a lot better all the same. Pretty soon she was back where Mia was, drink in hand as she set it down. "Here you go. I hope my service was satisfactory today. If you need anything else, feel free to ask."

That sounded good. It needed to be; she practiced it in her heard after all.

Mia took a sip of the drink and raised the glass to Kay "Thank you sweety I'll be drinking these most of the night." She said.

Soon the horrible singing ended and a pretty young asian american girl walked up to the stage. She looked up in no where in particular. "You had better not make me do anything stupid." She chided. There was no reason why she would do anything stupid. Unless she wasn't watching where she was going and tripped on one of the cords that lead to the speakers. "Trip on wha.. ah...AHHH...AHHHH!!!!" She pinwheeled her arms in a inglorious attempt to regain her balance.

Cupid was bringing out an order of wings when he saw a girl on stage. Quickly he set the tray down and raced over to her. He was there faster than someone could blink. He caught her just as she was about to tumble off the stage. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Rebecca looked at the handsome man. *He's okay looking. I wouldn't say handsome.* came her thought. Okay, She looked at the okay looking man that had saved her. "I'm fine, thanks. I'm a bit clumsy some times." she said and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

Hibari nodded to that. "Not a problem. Like I said, if you need anything." With that she turned her attention to anyone else who may have needed help. What she saw surprised her a bit. Cupid had moved fast; far too fast to be normal. It didn't surprise her as much, as there were a few explanations.

He might not be human. There's plenty of them around the Earth Realm. Or he could be human but with powers. Like a Ki user, or some other ability that boost his stats.

Whatever the reason, it seemed he had the situation handled so she left it alone for now.

The rest of the night went without incident and soon it was closing time. Matt brought in the rope and aisle stands. Setting them in the hallway to the right. He stretched his shoulders and rubbed his butt. "Hey Kay, I've been thinkin, I need a new stool or something. My ass hurts from sitting on that thing for eleven hours. We need to hire some more people. I can't be the only one bouncing here." He said.

Kay was gathering glasses and plates to set in the kitchen for morning chores. "I'm still paying off the insurance premiums from the last disaster that hit this place. So when you come up with three hundred and forty five thousand dollars to pay that off and another hundred thousand to cover the wages of the new hires then yes, I'll hire new people." She said and set the busing tray down. "Matt, I know it's hard we just have to bare it a little longer. I've talked to my bank and they're gonna look at the numbers and... well... we'll see." She said. It was the best she could do to re assure him.

Ukyo was munching on some popcorn, "Well... you know. You could always win the lottery. That would solve all our problems wouldn't it." She said.

It was Cupid who answered. "Oh yeah we never thought of that. Win the lottery she says yeah, we'll get right on that sweety." He said in a teasing manner. Ukyo threw some pop corn at him. "Meanie!!" She chided.

Kay laughed and turned to Hibari, "So how was your first day?" She asked.

Hibari was gradually starting to relax around the group of people. They were very down to earth so far and they had good chemistry. If she was staying here for a bit longer she'd probably find herself liking this place a lot very soon.

"Ah.." The young angel was momentarily caught off guard. "It was..nice. I'm still getting used to things, and I made a few mistakes but overall its been pleasant. If I may ask, what did you mean by last disaster? Did something happen?"

Ukyo started before anyone could stop her. "Well you see there was this girl Maple."

She was cut off by Kay, "Ukyo!"

This time Matt spoke. "It's alright Kay." He said and Kay relaxed.

Matt took a deep breath. "There was this company called Ultra Tech. They were after this girl named Maple. It wasn't the first time they came but it was the last. You see they were after her because of what she was. An advanced weapon system prototype. Long story short they practically destroyed the place." He pointed to the wall where the restrooms were. "They came in through there. Not the bathroom, the wall. Several people were injured including Ukyo. There was a fire fight and eventually they were beaten." He paused remembering the grizzly scene. "Maple left for Ultra Tech sometime ago and we haven't heard from her since. I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen to me. I thought she lov... I was hoping she would go on the suicide mission." He sat on a stool at the bar. "I really thought she would stay." He let out a heavy sigh.

Cupid leaned against a wall. He listened to Matt and he too let out a sigh. *Some loves are just not meant to be.* he thought. *Another failure.*

Hibari wasn't good at these sorts of things at the best of times. Hearing this she felt a bit uncomfortable and slightly bad she had possibly re-opened some wounds within Matt. While she had never been in a romantic relationship, she had lost people she cared about before; it came with her line of work. In that sense she could relate, in the other...not as much.

"I..apologize for inadvertently bringing it up. I didn't know." Hibari said quietly. It seemed like a innocent question at the time.

Matt shook his head. "No you didn't, it was a reasonable question." He said, he leaned back on the bar and looked to Hibari, "So tell us about you." He said and picked up Ukyo's bowel of popcorn. "I mean, if we're gonna be workin together and all I figure why not right? Here I'll start. I was an orphan moved from foster home to foster home. I joined the Marine's, wasn't cut out for it. I don't like hurting people. So I got into submission fighting. I mean why not, if I can take down an opponent without hurting them all the better. Anyway, I came to work at the Bronx about three years ago and it's like a second home to me." He said "If you have any questions just ask, I'm an open book."

For the most part, Hibari wasn't the type to pry. She didn't like getting into others personal life and she had a veil of privacy when it came to her own. To an extent. In really thinking about it..she didn't have a lot of things to really spoil. She worked, went to sleep, then went back to work. When she wasn't doing those things she kept to herself.

"I'm the middle child of three." Hibari began finally. "I have a sister named Kelsa, she's a nurse and a very good one. Then my eldest brother Coltan who has work here. I joined the Honor Guard when I was about eighteen when I was marked with very high testing scores. It's basically like you're secret service you have here, except there its not just the 'president'. I wanted to make a difference and..for some reason, I always had the desire to protect people. It's probably just part of my nature."

"Besides working, I couldn't list too many hobbies. I often keep to myself, reading books and other such things. I have few friends. It's..not terribly exciting but its my life."

This..is the most I've talked all at once barring speeches..

Ukyo rolled up and hugged Hibari "You have friends here." She said and pulled back She had a big smile on her face.

Kay nodded. "That you do." She said.

Hibari stiffened slightly at first, taken off guard as if it was foreign to her. But it didn't last long and she soon relax. "..Thank you. But I think I babbled enough about myself already. What about you three?" She was asking Ukyo, Kay and Cupid.

Kay shrugged "Not much to tell really, I worked at my mother club until I saved up to get my own and well." She waved a hand indicating the night club. "This is my life." She said.

Ukyo nodded. "Yeah Kay and I grew up together. I mean I lived with my mom and dad training in our family martial art. However I like it better here. I did the Street Fighting thing for a while and after a bit, it got old." She said. She looked to Cupid. So did Kay.

Cupid for his part looked at the group as if noticing them for the first time. "Hunh? What?" He looked at his wrist. "Oh look at my wrist, I gotta go." He grabbed his jacket and started walking to the door. Matt hopped out of his chair and slid in front of Cupid. "Nah Unh, We spilled so it's your turn." He said.

Cupid thought for a moment. He didn't want to give away who he really was so he would have to make something up. The problem is Kay would know. She always does. So he decided to play it safe. "Well, my mom was really popular back in the day. People worshiped her like a god. That wasn't an easy shadow to grow up in. So I took to archery and well.. Let's just say I did some questionable things. So for now I'm kinda laying low. Taking some time for me.ya know?" He said.

Something about what Cupid said bothered her. It seemed like the truth but not the entire truth. However she would leave it at that for now.

Ukyo however didn't. "There's something you're not telling. You studied archery? Hmmm...." She rubbed her chin. "Archery... Cupid..." She then stood and pointed at Cupid. "AH HA!!!"

Cupid began to sweat a little.

Ukyo had a sly grin on her face. "You.... watched too many Robin Hood movies as a kid didn't you!!" She said with conviction.

*CRASH* Cupid hit the floor. He was picking himself up. "Yeah, something like that." He said and Ukyo smile triumphantly.

Hibari couldn't help it. She laughed. It was a rare but pleasant sound from her but she quickly regained her bearings, going back to her normal calm. "That would be a very interesting theory if true." She teased very lightly. Hibari had a idea of what was really going on but for now she kept it to herself. Again, it wasn't really in her nature to pry into people's private lives.

"I'm assuming you had more under your employ before the..incident with Maple?"

Kay nodded "Yeah aside from Konami, we had a regular band that came in. Dead Metal. They were a local rock band that resided in the local cemetery. We also had a few temps, however the temp services stopped sending them. Mostly because of all the destruction. I offered to give them hazard pay but that was a no go. Frankly I'm surprised people still come here. Granted not near as many as there used to be..." She trailed off.

Kay let out a heavy sigh. "Honestly I've considered closing up shop and maybe relocating." She finished.

Ukyo nodded. "Yeah the fact that we're on top of a Hell Mouth probably doesn't help any either."

Matt piped up "Ukyo, come on people aren't supposed to know that. Especially on their first day." He said.

This time Cupid said something. "Whoa there, back up. Hell Mouth? Are you serious? From like Buffy The Vampire Slayer?" he asked.

Kay nodded. "Yeah, apparently Joss Whedon got the idea from one of his experiences and spun it off into a show." She said and shrugged, "Who knew they were real?" She asked rhetorically.

Hibari was..understandably surprised. "..That is indeed strange. However, considering we know other realms exist and other supernatural things it doesn't seem as odd. What I find odd is the fact I've..never heard of it until now. Though I wonder if its 'our' hell or some outside source. Has anything came from there?"

It was a different conversation but one she was more interested and comfortable with.

Kay nodded "Yeah that was the cause of our second remodel. It opened up and loosed a few fairly nasty demons. We beat them back, there were more of us here at that point, and managed to close it." She leaned back in her chair. "Since then we've been keeping an eye on it. Making sure it doesn't open up again." She brought up he hands and laced her fingers behind her head. "In hind sight I believe that's the reason strange things keep happening here." She said

Matt nodded. "Yeah we're sorta the unofficial first line of defense if it ever opens up again. Two retired Street Fighters and an ex marine. Couldn't ask for anything more." He chuckled.

Ukyo spoke next. "Yuppers. As for what kind of hell it is... the big one with hell fire and brimstone." She looked at the middle of the dance floor. "Ya know sometimes I find myself staring at that spot and can feel like there something waiting." She finished and Kay nodded.

"That's why we beefed up security and had the place fixed with a spell. To prevent demonic violence. That cost a pretty penny." She said.

"If it comes down it, I'll help as well." Hibari said without hesistating. "I'm assuming Nobus is already aware of the situation. Considering the fact its happened to do enough damage to remodel." She was thinking about things. From what she could remember in 'Dimensional Theory'(that was actually a class in some places believe it or not) there were other places referred to 'hell's.' They weren't literal cases of a place you went to die, though she forgot how exactly they went.

"Perhaps its similar to the Abyss." Hibari noted. Though they hadn't really had to worry about it in a long time. Relatively recently in her life time, the Nosferatu and Wildfire Demon had taken a nasty nose dive population wise by some strange virus. Considering the fact the two races often fought a great deal against them(hybrids included which happened to be very strong) she found the whole thing suspcious. Not that anyone could prove what exactly happened.

"In either case, I suppose we'll worry about when and if it comes again." She looked at her watch. She probably should be heading to home to bed.

Kay nodded "Any help we can get is great." She said and stood. She walked over to Hibari, "Hey you wouldn't happen to know a good investment broker would you?" She asked and waved her hands slightly. "I know, I know. Completely off topic but I need some cash to hire more people." She chuckled. "Fridays and Saturdays are a bitch. Even I'm out on the floor." she said.

Hibari shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't. I know something's about earth because I studied the culture before coming here, but this is actually only my first time being here from Alus. If I spot something, however, I'll inform you. Anyway, I have to get going back to my apartment. Do you need anything before I leave?"

Kay shook her head. "No that's about it. Ukyo and I will finish up here." She said.

Cupid nodded. "Cool, kitchen's already taken care of." He said and started out to his car.

Matt also got up. "Hey Hibari wait up I'll walk ya." He said. His motorcycle was parked to the side of the building. "I should be heading home too." He said.

Hibari thought about it, she could take care of herself but it wasn't like company on the way there wasn't going to kill her. She nodded.

"All right." She turned to the others. "I'll see you all tomorrow. It was nice meeting you on the first day."

Making sure everything was in order, the young woman headed outside. It wasn't all that cold, but then it was around the summer time so that was to be expected just about.

Matt waved to the others and headed out. "Wow, nice night." He said making small talk. "So where are you parked?" He asked.

**

Cupid walked around a corner and looked around making sure no one was watching. He took off his jacket and shirt. Wings of white and gray spread out from his back. He flexed them and then shot into the air.

He soared high above the city enjoying the cool wind in his hair. He swooped between buildings and then finally he landed on his apartment building. He walked down into his apartment and tossed his clothes on the couch. It was a nice apartment. Not overly big and lavish. It was a simple 2 bedroom apartment. Decorated with a museum's wet dream in ancient artifacts.

In the living room was a fake fireplace. On the mantle was an elegantly carved short bow.

Hibari shook her head. "I don't have a car. I fly, walk or teleport to where I need to go. The exceptions to that is if I'm at a place where I..need to keep a low profile. There are some places I've gone too where they aren't that accepting when it comes to things like that, but my apartment is pretty close to here. I like things here so far."

Matt smiled, "Glad to hear that." he said and nodded his head over to his '68 Panhead. "I can fly too. Well go fast at any rate." He said with a small laugh. "I live over in the West Side Apartments it's about a ten minute ride from here." He slipped on his leather jacket. "If you're headed west I can give you a ride, unless you wanna fly." He smiled.