Precious Broken Things
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,285
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,285
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 1
Chapter 1:
It was late when Mayu chased the last of the men out of the bar. The clientele who stayed this late were always men, always a little more drunk than was probably good, but its wasn't their job to question or judge, it was their job to empty the place out. The blonde girl sighed, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. She hadn't been on stage that night, so she had been on her feet all night, waiting tables. She never worked the bar, not having the experience for it, but Shikamura, the quiet boy who tended bar most nights had promised to teach her sometime, when he had the time. He'd been taking classes during the day, trying to get a degree in some thing or another and leave this place behind. It was a nice sentiment, but Mayu wasn't sure the boy could leave, when all the cards were down.
The man who owned the little bar, though much of the time ruling in absentia, ran a pretty tight ship there. He treated his employees like a little family, treating them better then they could have gotten elsewhere and paying them pretty damn well to boot. In return, he expected loyalty and hard work. She had heard from the customers that the man had been in the Yakuza once, and she didn't doubt it, it would explain the missing fingers on his right hand. He was quite an intimidating figure, not someone she would cross, but he took care of them, and didn't show a sign of distrusting them at all. Most nights he never bothered to show up. He left the actual business of the bar up to the manager, Yori, a pleasant but vaguely oily little man, and Shikamura, the kid behind the bar. They were the one's who closed and opened the place, they had the keys, made the orders, and took the money to the bank every night at closing. The man did show up on a rather regular schedule though, whenever Shinobu was scheduled to take the little stage.
That girl was a mystery wrapped around an enigma, there was a wall behind her eyes and the one time Mayu had managed to see beyond that wall, she had been struck by the hopeless despondency she saw there. It was a little painful, really, seeing her coworker like that. There were only a few girls who worked the bar, it was a small staff that stuck together like sisters, and they had all tried to reach out to Shinobu, without much affect. It wasn't that the girl was hostile or deliberate in her isolation, she was always nice enough, but that awkward distance always remained, like some moat around her. In fact, the only one on staff the girl seemed halfway comfortable around was Shikamura.
One of the girls had thought early on that they might be lovers, and Mayu, being the bravest, and most curious, had brought it up one night, when the boy had been closing. The bartender had just blushed and sputtered, saying they were cousins, nothing more. Shikamura and Shinobu were a strange pair really, and they had been working there the longest, the first to be hired when the bar had been founded six years ago. The fact that neither of them had left yet spoke volumes of the inescapable nature of their current situation in itself.
Mayu sighed, leaning against the wall by the door, watching Shikamura polish the glasses set out on the bar in front of him one by one, setting each gently on the mirrored shelf behind him as he finished. She wondered idly how much he really knew about his cousin, obviously more than he was telling the rest of the staff, but he probably had his reasons for that. She started a little at the slam of the door to the kitchen and smiled as Shinobu herself walked into the room, empty dishpan set on one hip, and set to work picking up the candle from each of the small tables, blowing it out before setting it in the bin and moving on.
She really was beautiful, with short black hair pressed straight and curved into a little bob that hovered just below her chin at each shift of her head, the ends uneven in a trendy sort of way. Her skin was pale and and smooth, her eyes dark, always a little sunken looking off stage, like she spent too much time worrying, not sleeping or eating like she should. Mayu sighed, before pushing herself to her feet.
"Hey Shishi, want some help there?" The girl snapped her head up in surprise, obviously pulled up from some distracted little world of her own. Her delicate lips quickly pressed a smile though, and she shook her head gently.
"I think I'm fine here. There isn't much left to do really, if you want to head out. I can get Shika to help me with the tables when he's done back there." She flicked her head in the direction of the boy behind the bar, who shot a smile over. Mayu sighed again before crossing her arms rubbing them against the slight cold.
"Yeah I guess, if you're sure-" a brief pause, but the other girl just nodded, "- I'll be off then. See you tomorrow then?" Shinobu smiled again.
"Around noon, right?"
"I thought you were on stage tomorrow, it's friday, right?" The other girl sighed, shoulder's hunching a little, and Mayu couldn't help wrinkling her brow ever so slightly in confusion. Shinobu's voice was forcibly bright when she spoke next though, reaching for the last candle.
"Well thats good then, I guess I'll see you at six then, unless someone needs me to cover an earlier shift or something..." Mayu shook her head, but it was the deeper voice of Shikamura that spoke next, slumping forward over the bar top with a smirk.
"Naw, we're good tomorrow, all you have to do is show up ready to sing Shishi." The girl scowled at her cousin then. He had been the one who came up with the affectionate nickname for the girl, and she still scowled at him every time he used it, even though she'd grown quite comfortable with it from everybody else there. Mayu smiled
a little, and called a final goodbye before letting herself out, leaving the the other two alone to lock up.
X
Shikamura sighed, as the door fell shut, and waited until he heard the feet retreating down the stairs before speaking, stopping the girl at the door to the kitchen.
"Hey ... just be careful okay? He's been showing up a lot lately. I - I don't think he knows really, but just to be safe ... you know..." Shinobu smiled weakly at him, nodding once before pushing her way into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I will."
It was late when Mayu chased the last of the men out of the bar. The clientele who stayed this late were always men, always a little more drunk than was probably good, but its wasn't their job to question or judge, it was their job to empty the place out. The blonde girl sighed, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. She hadn't been on stage that night, so she had been on her feet all night, waiting tables. She never worked the bar, not having the experience for it, but Shikamura, the quiet boy who tended bar most nights had promised to teach her sometime, when he had the time. He'd been taking classes during the day, trying to get a degree in some thing or another and leave this place behind. It was a nice sentiment, but Mayu wasn't sure the boy could leave, when all the cards were down.
The man who owned the little bar, though much of the time ruling in absentia, ran a pretty tight ship there. He treated his employees like a little family, treating them better then they could have gotten elsewhere and paying them pretty damn well to boot. In return, he expected loyalty and hard work. She had heard from the customers that the man had been in the Yakuza once, and she didn't doubt it, it would explain the missing fingers on his right hand. He was quite an intimidating figure, not someone she would cross, but he took care of them, and didn't show a sign of distrusting them at all. Most nights he never bothered to show up. He left the actual business of the bar up to the manager, Yori, a pleasant but vaguely oily little man, and Shikamura, the kid behind the bar. They were the one's who closed and opened the place, they had the keys, made the orders, and took the money to the bank every night at closing. The man did show up on a rather regular schedule though, whenever Shinobu was scheduled to take the little stage.
That girl was a mystery wrapped around an enigma, there was a wall behind her eyes and the one time Mayu had managed to see beyond that wall, she had been struck by the hopeless despondency she saw there. It was a little painful, really, seeing her coworker like that. There were only a few girls who worked the bar, it was a small staff that stuck together like sisters, and they had all tried to reach out to Shinobu, without much affect. It wasn't that the girl was hostile or deliberate in her isolation, she was always nice enough, but that awkward distance always remained, like some moat around her. In fact, the only one on staff the girl seemed halfway comfortable around was Shikamura.
One of the girls had thought early on that they might be lovers, and Mayu, being the bravest, and most curious, had brought it up one night, when the boy had been closing. The bartender had just blushed and sputtered, saying they were cousins, nothing more. Shikamura and Shinobu were a strange pair really, and they had been working there the longest, the first to be hired when the bar had been founded six years ago. The fact that neither of them had left yet spoke volumes of the inescapable nature of their current situation in itself.
Mayu sighed, leaning against the wall by the door, watching Shikamura polish the glasses set out on the bar in front of him one by one, setting each gently on the mirrored shelf behind him as he finished. She wondered idly how much he really knew about his cousin, obviously more than he was telling the rest of the staff, but he probably had his reasons for that. She started a little at the slam of the door to the kitchen and smiled as Shinobu herself walked into the room, empty dishpan set on one hip, and set to work picking up the candle from each of the small tables, blowing it out before setting it in the bin and moving on.
She really was beautiful, with short black hair pressed straight and curved into a little bob that hovered just below her chin at each shift of her head, the ends uneven in a trendy sort of way. Her skin was pale and and smooth, her eyes dark, always a little sunken looking off stage, like she spent too much time worrying, not sleeping or eating like she should. Mayu sighed, before pushing herself to her feet.
"Hey Shishi, want some help there?" The girl snapped her head up in surprise, obviously pulled up from some distracted little world of her own. Her delicate lips quickly pressed a smile though, and she shook her head gently.
"I think I'm fine here. There isn't much left to do really, if you want to head out. I can get Shika to help me with the tables when he's done back there." She flicked her head in the direction of the boy behind the bar, who shot a smile over. Mayu sighed again before crossing her arms rubbing them against the slight cold.
"Yeah I guess, if you're sure-" a brief pause, but the other girl just nodded, "- I'll be off then. See you tomorrow then?" Shinobu smiled again.
"Around noon, right?"
"I thought you were on stage tomorrow, it's friday, right?" The other girl sighed, shoulder's hunching a little, and Mayu couldn't help wrinkling her brow ever so slightly in confusion. Shinobu's voice was forcibly bright when she spoke next though, reaching for the last candle.
"Well thats good then, I guess I'll see you at six then, unless someone needs me to cover an earlier shift or something..." Mayu shook her head, but it was the deeper voice of Shikamura that spoke next, slumping forward over the bar top with a smirk.
"Naw, we're good tomorrow, all you have to do is show up ready to sing Shishi." The girl scowled at her cousin then. He had been the one who came up with the affectionate nickname for the girl, and she still scowled at him every time he used it, even though she'd grown quite comfortable with it from everybody else there. Mayu smiled
a little, and called a final goodbye before letting herself out, leaving the the other two alone to lock up.
X
Shikamura sighed, as the door fell shut, and waited until he heard the feet retreating down the stairs before speaking, stopping the girl at the door to the kitchen.
"Hey ... just be careful okay? He's been showing up a lot lately. I - I don't think he knows really, but just to be safe ... you know..." Shinobu smiled weakly at him, nodding once before pushing her way into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I will."