Who: Yagyuu Hiroshi, Niou Masaharu
What: Yagyuu was careless but Niou fixes things up for him.
When: 15 August, nighttime
Where: Niou's pastry shop, Foschia
Rating: PG


Niou frowned. This isn't right. Why wasn't it going as the recipe said it would?

It was one of the rare nights where business for his pastry shop was super slow, meaning no customers whatsoever. Being the wonderful and intelligent familiar that he was, Noeru suggested that he get to working on the list of potions that he had yet to master. And he didn't for the past week, since he wanted a break from anything remotely related to potions. So, he supposed that the cat had a point. Not like he would admit it to the furball.

But now he had a botched batch of bubbling... stuff that he had to get rid of. Done just as easily as said if one used magic after all. He just hoped that no one would be stumbling into his shop while he was doing so. But it was late at night, so he doubted anyone would be coming by. Taking out his wand, he started the mumble the incantation...

Yagyuu hissed as he held his elbow tightly to his chest to prevent it from being unnecessarily jarred with every step he took. He really had been careless tonight. While heading home from the university library, he ran into a fight between yet another group of witches and vampires. In hindsight he really shouldn't have tried to break them up with just a few throwing knives on him but he couldn't leave them be either. A stray spell from one of the witches involved hit him. It was just a glance, but it still hurt. And he couldn't tell what was wrong with it. All he wanted to do now was to head home.

As he took another wincing step forward, he looked up and spotted Niou's shop. Taking a deep breathe, he decided maybe a short break with a hot cup of tea would be best before he made the rest of the journal home.

Just as Niou was about to recite the next line of the necessary incantation to fully rid of the bubbling mess, he felt something - or someone - step through his alert barrier that he placed whenever working in his potions lab.

"Ah, shit! Lost my train of thought..." Niou breathed a sigh of relief when the interrupted spell didn't back fire on him. Placing a quick barrier around the cauldron, he stored his wand away and made sure the entry way to the lab was securely hidden before heading out to the front. Whoever was coming around his shop at this time was either crazy or drunk and he hoped that the person was neither.

Going through the kitchen door to the main pastry shop store, he stopped in his place when he saw a slightly hunched figure. A slightly hunched figure who he recognized easily enough. "Yagyuu?"

Yagyuu looked up at the sound of his name being called and straightened up a bit, biting back the pain the went through his body as he did so. "Good evening, Niou-san." he greeted the other politely in an even voice. "Might I trouble for a cup of tea?" He manged to walk almost normally to a chair and sat down in it, sighing a bit in relief as he dropped his backpack to the ground.

Niou blinked his eyes but proceeded to do as requested from the brown haired male. There had been something odd with the other, something in the way that he walked. However, it wasn't his business to question... not yet anyway. Yagyuu wasn't an easy person to get answers from, but if he asked the right questions then maybe.

"Didn't expect you to be dropping by at this hour," Niou said as he prepared the tea. Luckily he always left the makers on, on the off set chance that someone would stumble in on a slow day. Like right now. "And didn't I say that you could drop the '-san' from my name? Makes me feel old."

"I was just passing by and felt thirsty." Yagyuu answered politely and a bit evasively as he looked around the shop. There were many tasty looking deserts and pastries set up on display, as per the last few times he visited.

"What else should I call you then? I believe -san ithe acceptable word to use between us." They didn't know each other all that well anyway.

He knew it wouldn't have been easy to even get that, but Niou liked a challenge. And this could probably rank pretty high on his list, along with mastering the potions that he still needed to do and discovering new ones. Setting up a tray and placing any and everything one would need for a simple cup of tea, he brought it over to where Yagyuu sat and made it to the other's preference from the few times that he actually stayed long enough to have a cup.

"Yeah well, regardless of that, you can still drop it from my name at least. Familiar or not, doesn't really matter to me," Niou replied, setting the cup in front of Yagyuu. He discreetly eyed the other male, looking for any of the odd signs from before. Something was up and he was curious to know.

Yagyuu almost reached for the cup of teach with his injured arm but stopped himself as soon as he felt a twinge coming from it and reached for the teach with his other hand instead, adding one sugare and one milk to it.

"Since you insist so much, I'll stick to Niou-kun instead. Would that be any better?" he replied even as he picked up a teaspoon to stir the tea.

"Better than '-san' at least," Niou mused with a small grin as he fixed his own cup with two sugars. However, inwardly he was contemplating on the subtle movements that Yagyuu was making. Since he was a child, he'd had a keen eye for the slightest movements that a person made and with his vampiric vision, could see the subtleties even better. And right now, although Yagyuu was covering it up rather nicely, they weren't getting by Niou.

He took a short sip of his hot beverage before putting the cup down. "Care for anything else besides a cup of tea?"

Yagyuu picked up his own cup and took a sip, body relaxing a bit as the heat of the tea spread throughout his body. "No thank you, this is fine." he replied and took another small sip. He would have liked to ask for a painkiller, but he didn't trust Niou enough to get something like that front him, not to mention he had no idea what drugs would actually do when mixed with unknown magic that might or might not be affeecting his elbow.

This guy really needs to loosen up, Niou mused as he grinned a little. However, his grin dropped just a tad bit when he sensed residual magic that wasn't his own. Which was unusual since as far as he knew, he was the only witch in the area... He tracked the energies and the source of it made his eyes widen just little bit. It was coming from Yagyuu.

And coming to that realization, made him even more cautious not to mention extremely curious. Before this moment, he believed that the other was just a normal human who'd come by for strawberry shortcake for his sister. Now he wasn't so sure. But knowing that Yagyuu had residual magic on him, he took a closer look and noticed that the usual neat and clean gentleman was rather ruffled up. Like he'd been in a fight or something...

"Are you sure? I've got cake, cookies... first aid kit."

He almost twitched at the mention of the first-aid kit. Was he that obvious? "Maybe some cookies for my sister." Yagyuu answered blandly, ignoring the mention of the first aid kit. He didn't seem to be physically injured as far he could tell, so the first aid kit would not really be helpful. The cookies would distract Hiroe from asking any questions on why he was home later than usual, at least for the short term.

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Niou teased, but stood up from his seat and prepared a box of cookies, and possibly other sweets, for Yagyuu's sister. Really, besides Ohtori, the other's sister was his next biggest customer. "You can play it off all you want, but I've been in my own fair share of scuffles to recognize that someone's been in a fight."

Yagyuu wanted to twitch again. "It wasn't a fight. I tripped." That wasn't really a lie either. He HAD tripped, in a manner of speaking, right into the middle of the vampire-witch scuffle. And he wasn't stubborn either.

Niou wanted to roll his eyes, really he did. Stubborn to the end. He packed up the box and brought it over to Yagyuu, placing it in front of the other to take when he left... after admitting and being treated. Magical injuries were not fun stuff and he definitely knew that from experience. "Really. Well, to get injuries like that, you'd have to have some huge trip and fall," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow. If Yagyuu wanted to be stubborn, he could very well be too.

Yagyuu shrugged, pretending nonchalance, then hissed as his elbow protested the movement. He hid his wince of pain by hurriedly drinking his tea. It was up to Niou to decide what he believed in. "Believe what you want. I say I tripped."

"More like tripping. I seriously doubt that you're gonna get away with having injuries, especially hiding them from your sister," Niou stated, this time really rolling his eyes. He had a feeling that Yagyuu wasn't going to admit to being injured in a fight that involved witches. And if he didn't admit to it, then he'd be having that injury for quite sometime, unless he went to a witch to counter the spell. Which he had a feeling that he wouldn't. One: Yagyuu was stubborn as hell and two: he didn't think the brunet was a normal human either.

And now was the debate. Already, he'd revealed himself twice just this past week. Should he make it a third time for charm? The main difference was that this time, he'd be riskily revealing his magical heritage rather than his vampire side. Sometimes he hated being the nice guy.

"She would not see anything." Yagyuu replied. That was one hundred percent true, but Hiroe was also very sensitive to changes to him, blind or not, and would definitely sense that he was injured, and would fuss. The fact that he was in pain from a spell rather than a physical wound would definitely be harder to handle than any normal physical injury. He was hoping the spell would dissipate over time on its own.

Letting out a small sigh, Niou took his seat and stared right at Yagyuu, not caring for manners at the moment. It would be the riskiest gamble he had yet to take. If his deductions were somewhere near the center target, then the person sitting in front of him may not be one of the night, but one who hunted the night. And if that were the case, then he was treading on thin ice here.

However, the spell wouldn't go away as easily as that and Yagyuu would have to suffer from the pain for a very long time.

Never let it be said that I didn't take risks, he mused lamely to himself. He idly traced the rim of his cup once. "It's not gonna go away, I hope you realize."

Yagyuu shrugged again, taking another sip of his tea, ignoring the pain. It wasn't completely unbearable now that he was getting used to it. He always did have high pain tolerance. "All things go away in time."

He was having suspicions on just what Niou might really be, but not need to act hasty, considering the other male was generally helpful.

"Maybe so, but if you want regular usage of your arm again, then it might be a good idea to get the proper help for it," Niou said calmly, taking a sip of his cooling tea. Inside, he felt incredulous. He'd never met and dealt with someone like Yagyuu Hiroshi before, and he was deathly curious about the brunet. Just what would it take to break him? He wanted to know. But for now, he needed to at least try to have the other acknowledge that the injury wasn't a normal one.

Yagyuu set down his mostly empty teacup and met Niou's eyes squarely on. This really was a risk he was taking. If Niou was a witch, he might do something to make his injuries worse, or send him to someone who would do that. "And where or how would I get so called proper help for it?" he asked. "Shall I head for a hospital?"

Not if it was run by witches he wanted to retort. This was getting slightly ridiculous. However, Niou didn't waver from Yagyuu's gaze. If this was the only way that he could be remotely trusted to at least look at the injury, then so be it. "In your current condition, I doubt you'd make it that far. This is an obscure, out-of-the-way place you're in. And I seriously doubt a normal hospital will be able to help you," he pointed out in a knowing tone of voice.

"Hmm.....who else then. You perhaps?" Yagyuu finally asked the question that was hanging in the air in between them. There wasn't much point in dragging this out much longer.

Niou stared at Yagyuu for a moment longer before finally breaking the staring contest and letting out a small chuckle. "So there's finally a crack in the seemingly impenetrable wall," he mused quietly to himself and knowing fully well that Yagyuu could hear him. He looked back up at the other but this time he held a small grin instead of an expression of seriousness. "I'm an option, sure. And could be your only option if you're not willing to go to a real professional," he replied. And if the brunet had an inkling of what he was, then he would definitely know now.

Yagyuu almost scowled at the remark that he definitely heard. He gave a sigh instead and shook his head. "Very well, go ahead and take a look at it." Odd that Niou didn't consider himself a professional, but he put the remark into the back of his mind to think about another day. And there was no need for him to ask for confirmation just what Niou was, since he was sure Niou had at least a good guess on what he himself was.

Standing up, Niou took Yagyuu's empty cup of tea and started on making another for his guest. Who knew how long it would take to counter the spell, after all. There's was also the chance that he couldn't do it at all, but he'd rather like to think that he'd be able to.

He returned the cup of tea to it's previous spot, steam rising from it's contents. "Let's see the damage then." And depending on said damage, he'd be able to determine what was needed to patch the injury up. Though he already knew that he'd be needing his wand for the spell, he wondered if he would need to give Yagyuu a potion as well.

Yagyuu nodded to Niou in thanks for the second cup of tea and stirred in his preferred amount of sugar and milk before slipping the light jacket he was wearing off. "It's my right arm, centering on the elbow."

Looking at said affected area, Niou raised an eyebrow. "That must have been some brawl you got yourself mixed in. Lucky for you, it's just your arm," he said as he looked at Yagyuu's arm from different angles. It almost looked like it was locked in place, with the way that the other hadn't really been moving it. Must be painful. Then again, I don't blame him, he thought to himself. He looked up at the brunet. "So it's just your arm, right? Not holding back on me just to shake me off your case, are you?

Yagyuu picked up the tea and took a sip. "I assure you it is just the arm." he answered, then added, "I did not get myself mixed up in anything."

"Uh-huh, whatever you say," Niou mumbled but it was clear enough that he knew Yagyuu heard him. He stood up from his crouched position. "I'm gonna go get some things from the back, so sit tight. Won't take long." With that, he turned around and headed back to where had been previously before Yagyuu had stumbled into his shop, probably literally.

Seeing his familiar perk up at his appearance, he didn't say anything though sensing being followed by the cat. He just made his way to where he securely stored his wand and then headed over to a cabinet to grab a few potions. This would be the first time he'd be giving one to a regular human, even though Yagyuu was anything but ordinary.

"Isn't that human still here? Why are you--" Noeru cut himself off. If he had a human body, smacking his forehead wouldn't look out of place at the current situation. However, seeing a cat do it was rather comical and made Niou chuckle. "Another one? This is the third one this week!"

"Explain later. Or come out if you want," Niou simply said, taking what he gathered and leaving. He didn't need to turn around to see if Noeru was following. His familiar could be just as curious as he could be.

Yagyuu relaxed a bit against the back of the chair and sipped the hot tea slowly as he waited. He wasn't sure what the 'cure' would consist of, but most likely some potion of some sort or a bit of wand waving.

He raised an eyebrow at the cat that followed Niou out of what Yagyuu assumed to be the kitchen doorway. "Your pet, Niou-kun?" he asked, despite having a good idea that pet was not exactly what the cat was.

Niou chuckled, easily sensing his familiar's annoyance at being referred to as a pet. Especially by a human who should know better. He watched Noeru jump onto the table effortlessly, barely even making the teacups jostle while he set down the various vials in an open spot that wasn't occupied.

"I'll have you know I'm not like those pathetic excuses of a house cat that you humans seem to have," Noeru informed indignantly and settling himself on the table, watching Yagyuu.

"Careful, he might use you as a scratching post," Niou mused after everything was set aside. He twirled his wand in his hand, grateful at the familiar feeling of it in his hands.

Yagyuu's eyes tracked Niou's cat as it made it's way across the floor and onto the table. "You mean you're not a cat? How odd. I see two ears, fur, four legs and a tail. But perhaps you're a dog instead."

He then switched his attention to what Niou was doing with his wand. "Your cat may try, but I daresay it won't like the results." he answered, and added dryly, "I suppose this is my day for seeing a great deal of foolish wand waving."

It was obvious Noeru took offense to being called a canine, if the feline lunging at Yagyuu was any indication. However, Niou knew that the cat wouldn't actually hurt him. And that much was obvious when Noeru gracefully landed on Yagyuu's left shoulder and curled around his neck. If one looked from a distance, it would look like the cat was nuzzling against him... but the extracted claws said otherwise. And if Yagyuu attacked, luckily his familiar was quick and nimble enough to at least get away.

"Sorry to say, but the foolish wand waving is necessary if you want full usage of your arm again," Niou responded with a cheeky grin. "You'll just have to deal with it and the nasty tasting potion afterwards. And if you don't want to go through with it more than once, I suggest you hush and keep still."

Yagyuu almost wanted to snatch Noeru out of the air with his hands as the cat lunged towards him, but his arm was still hurting and he didn't want to move when Niou was still examining him. So he kept still and put up with the feeling of claws going through his shirt pricking his shoulders. "I think I will be getting my sister a new fur muff this winter. Not that it'll be much of a fur muff with the amount and quality of fur the original animal has." he murmured softly.

"Oh very well. I suppose it is worth it." he answered Niou and sat still on the chair.

"You're just very lucky that he's treating you instead of me," Noeru whispered in Yagyuu's ear and then kept still in preparation of Niou's spellwork.

Niou ignored the bantering that he knew was going on in favor of concentrating on the magical residue on Yagyuu's arm. With the right spell in mind and a fixture on the residue, he raised his wand and began weaving the spell, a string of Latin words escaping his lips. It was intricate and simple at the same time, something that Niou liked when it came to casting spells and the feeling of actually casting one gave him a feeling nostalgia all over again.

Using his own magical energy, he focused on dispelling the offensive magic at the main point on Yagyuu's arm and worked around it.

Yagyuu did not reply, but concentrated his attention on Niou and what he was doing. As Niou chanted, Yagyuu memorized the words he was speaking for his own study later. There was an odd feeling of pressure around his arm, but he ignored it and kept still, remembering Niou's earlier admonishment of keeping still.

Casting a spell was like an intricate dance or a complex song as some people had described it upon hearing it only once. It was something that was meant to be seen only once and remembered like some fairy tale. At least Niou thought so. But that was probably his childhood speaking to him for a faint moment. He pushed the thought away in favor of finishing up the spell, the soft glow of light growing just a tad bit stronger before disappearing in an instant. Slowly lowering his wand, he allowed the rush of using magic to seep away, leaving him more drained than he usually was compared to his potion making nights.

Still in an almost trance-like manner, Niou picked up two vials and held one out for Yagyuu to take. "Drink this and then we'll need to rub this other one on your elbow," he said, voice holding a misty feature to it.

Noeru, on the other hand, swished his tail and had an amused aura around him. "Interesting one, isn't he?"

Yagyuu reached forward to take the two vials from Niou, sniffing cautiously at the one he was going to drink. "Any side effects I should know about?" he asked, keeping an eye on Niou. The other sounded like he was in a trance of some sort.

"And yes, he is." There was no point in denying the truth, at least this time.

Taking in a slow, deep breath, Niou close his eyes and began to fall out of his trance-like state. It made him feel like he was indifferent to everything around him, which he didn't particularly like. Though in certain situations, it probably would have helped him a lot. But no time to think on that.

"Nothing serious, I can assure you. I make them so that there are minimal to no side effects, but for that particular one you'll probably feel more tired than usual for a day or two. But that means it's working," he replied, taking his seat from before. He shifted his gaze to Noeru who was still sitting on Yagyuu's shoulders and slightly raised a brow. What was he still doing there?

Noeru held a bit of smugness in his posture before whispering subtly in Yagyuu's ear. "Never in a million years did I expect Masaharu to help a hunter. You must be pretty special~"

Yagyuu sniffed one more time from the vial before downing it all in one big gulp. It tasted as foul as Niou had indicated earlier and he picked up his now cold tea to take a sip of it, hoping it'll wash the taste out of his mouth. He moved his right elbow up and down and was glad to find that there was only slight spazzing of pain occasionally.

Glancing at the cat still on his shoulder, he murmured back just as softly, "And neither did I expect to accept help from a witch."

Niou took the empty vial and set it with the other vials that he had brought as just in case factors. Luckily for Yagyuu, they weren't needed. He then eyed the ointment that the other still held in his hand. "You should take that and rub it on to help with any soreness that you'll probably be getting. It works for bruises too," he informed Yagyuu like he'd done it before. And in fact he had. It was a little sad when nowadays, witches couldn't identify what potion was used for what anymore. The art of potion making really was declining these days.

"And Noeru, if you're talking smack about me, I suggest you don't before there will be a distinct decrease in fish in your diet for the next three months," Niou warned, his brow still raised. Being tired made him just the slightest bit more irritable, which was probably not a good thing at the moment.

Yagyuu nodded and slipped the vial into a pocket. "I should leave you to your rest now." he replied and got up from the chair, heedless of the cat that was still on his shoulder. "And..thank you. How much do I owe you?"

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he told the cat, "I believe you should return to your master now."

Niou waved his hand at the question. "Don't even think about it. The best payment you've given me is trusting me enough to treat your arm," he said in an off-handed manner.

To any one else, it seemed like he didn't really care, but Noeru knew better. In Niou's eyes, behind the tiredness and nonchalance, was gratitude and the feeling of being able to do a job well done. After being shunned and ridiculed for who he had become against his will, the familiar could only imagine how the vampire-witch was feeling.

"And we were getting along so nicely~" Noeru murmured to Yagyuu. "But don't mind him. He really does appreciate what you just did for him," he revealed in soft tones. "And you have my thanks as well. Stop by more often." With that, Noeru nudged against Yagyuu's cheek and jumped off of his shoulder, landing with all the grace a cat had.

"I still owe you for the cookies and the tea however." Yagyuu replied, but didn't move to take out his wallet, as he suspected Niou wouldn't take any money for those either. Instead he bent down to pick up his backpack and frowned when the zipper slipped and one of his textbooks slipped out. "Excuse me." he murmured as he slipped the book back into place and zipped up the backpack properly before shifting the entire thing over one shoulder.

Niou shook his head, feeling more tired than he thought he was. "If you leave any kind of payment behind, I will shove another potion down your throat," he threatened in a tone that held more amusement than anything. He rested his elbow on the table and laid his head on his palm, eyes half-lidded now. Sleep was sounding really good right now even though he couldn't. He had a cauldron of goop to clean up after all.

"Should go before your sister wonders about you. And don't forget your jacket." He hadn't even noticed when Noeru jumped back onto the table and settled next to him, keeping watch over him like a silent guardian. His eyes drooped even further to the point that they finally closed.

"Ahh..." Yagyuu hummed a soft reply as he watched Niou gradually doze off and picked up his jacket as well. He left the cafe silently, giving Noeru a nod before stepping out of the shop. Closing the shop door quietly behind him he headed home, at a much faster pace than he'd been moving before.