- West Fashion Stop -

Taking long strides of excitement upon entering, Jade, Tora and Sakuro glances around the store's interior in fascination. "My gosh...this place is bigger than four barnyards!" Tora exclaims, her eyes beaming from fascination. "Maybe more than that!"

"You didn't think to tell us about this place sooner?" Jade throws her words at Lux, who simply shrugs without a care.

"I forgot. You're here now, aren't you? It'll all be worth it with this membership card," he counters, flashing the item with his own version of a pose.

"What was worth it was seeing whatever the hell you just did," she says, laughing to herself. "Hey, Tora. Where do you want to go first?"

"Hmm...Oh, oh! The women's section is upstairs! Let's go up there!"

"Okay. I'm coming. You too, Sakuro. Don't think I didn't see you." Jade ensures to point at her target with a smile.

She and Tora quickly walk off towards the woman's section. Lux and Sakuro glance at each other with blank expressions. "Good luck," he comments, smirking.

"I will not need luck if I'm nowhere near them."

Lux chuckles as he saunters off with his hands in his pockets. Once he makes it to the men's section, he begins his picky browsing through its wares. After a fairly long stretch of time passes by, he ends up purchasing new styles of clothes, footwear, and accessories. Deciding he's satisfied with what he has, he then takes the escalator stairs towards the women's section.

From a few minutes of searching, he finally finds Jade and Tora standing in front of the changing rooms. He approaches them, immediately noticing their change in attire. Jade is wearing a dark green, long sleeve shirt with a sort of small, black colored, thin half plate covering her breast.

It was accompanied by a small, black ripped cloth around her neck. On her bottom half were tight, black-dark greenish camo pants cuffed upward right below her knees, a dark purplish-black jacket wrapped around her waist concluded by black shoes with dark purple laces.

The first thing Lux notices about Tora is that her glasses are a new light blue color. She's wearing a plaid blue and orange shirt with the sleeves cuffed up to her elbows, and an oversized light brown jacket that's in such a way it exposes her clothed shoulders. She's also wearing brown jean shorts with a bright orange belt around her waist, topping it all off with long brown boots. "Yo," Lux casually passes in greeting. Jade lifts her head, returning the good-natured pass with a similar response.

"Yo."

"Heya! So, what do you think? Looking as sweet as a glazed doughnut am I right?"

"I don't know what the hell that means," Lux states, taking a moment to answer Tora's question. "You look...not what you looked like before you changed clothes."

"That's not really an answer..."

"I'll take that over we look like shit," Jade adds, satisfied that Lux hasn't taken it upon himself to insult anyone. Not yet, anyways.

"Where's Sakuro? She shot herself in the head from hearing Tora's voice too much?"

"What's wrong with my voice?!"

"Sound like a southern pidgin getting choked by another pidgin."

"Wha?! That's not nice!"

"If you're gonna do somethin' about it, then do it. Otherwise, shut up."

"Get him, babe. Show him what you got." Jade says, chuckling as she gently taps Tora's behind to encourage her.

"Wha? Uh, um..." Tora whimpers, putting forth a weak effort of attack on Lux's chest with her fist. Lux looks down at his chest then back up at Tora. "Wow, I think you actually hurt me with that attack."

"Really?!"

"No. Hit me harder."

"I don't think I can..."

"Damm. You're hanging with a scaredy-cat, J."

"She'll get there. Fuck what he's saying, isn't that right?" Jade says, releasing a giggle once again before gently wrapping her arm around Tora's shoulder to reassure her.

"Yeah..."

"Huh? I can't hear you from up here."

The trio hear a door close from the changing room area. They look over in its direction, to find Sakuro walking out with new clothes. She's wearing a white and red warrior kimono with blood red flower symbols scattered across it, with medium length wooden samurai footwear. Her tanto and Ichigo's sheathe wrapped in the red sash around her waist on the left side. Sakuro and Ichi glance over at everyone, waiting for their collective thought. Lux is the first to speak, his confusion taking the frontlines of a battalion of words. "What in the hell are you wearing?"

"I don't know but she looks adorable!"

"Ain't with the cute shit. Looks like nobility. Maybe like a movie star or somethin'."

"I enjoy many movies about warrior princesses," Sakuro replies, reinforcing Lux's comparisons.

"What'd she say, babe?" Jade looked to Lux for translation.

"Said she can't wait to cut the throats of the people that fuck with her."

"That is also very accurate." Sakuro confirmed without the slightest hint of a grin.

"I feel like she didn't say any of that." Jade responded, taking in the outfit once again as if attempting to decide if it was missing something.

"If you guys are done then let's get out of here." Lux ordered.

"Righto!" Tora agreed happily.

They return to Kenvale with full bags of clothes in tow. The quiet and cool evening greeting them. Klaus is sitting on the couch in a cozy posture, his wide eyes glued to the TV.  He leans his head back further, now in an upside-down position, peering behind himself when he hears everyone walk into the main area of the house.

"Heeeey. Did you guys have an orgy without me or something? Where did everybody go?"

"We went shopping for clothes!" Tora exclaims, waving her bags over his head.

"We got a little something for you, babe."

Klaus turns his head back towards the TV, mocking Tora's voice and he munches on a turkey and cheese sandwich. "Oh my gosh! Thanks! I'm so happy all the time and everywhere I go! Vern is so cool!"

"I don't sound like that!" his target objects.

"Sounded like a dying pigeon to me," Lux jabs, sensing Tora's embarrassment.

"Don't listen to them, baby. They're just jealous they don't have a sexy country accent."

"Oh, you think it's sexy?"

"Mhm."

"Fuck right in front of us why don't you."

"Don't tempt me. C'mon, Tora. Let's go try on all these clothes."

"Okay! Bye, guys!"

Jade and Tora walk upstairs towards Jade's room, with mostly Tora trotting up the steps, eager to try on all the new clothes they've bought. Lux and Sakuro take the stairs after them with Ichigo following behind to his room. Stepping inside, he tosses all of his new bags of clothes near his closet door, then glances around the interior to decide to himself what to do for the night.

Having something specific in mind, Lux takes his Blackcell out of his back pocket, beginning to look at the names of his contacts. Eventually, he decides to call Klaus. He places his cell up to his ear awaiting an answer. After two rings, Klaus answers the call, responding in an accent. "Yo, yo it's Klaus. Who is this and how do you get this number?"

"Yo, Klaus- "

"SHUT UP, BRUH! Don't you ever call this number again! If you do, I'll find you!"

Klaus hangs up suddenly. Lux responds by waiting quietly and patiently with his cell in his hand. His patience is rewarded as his Blackcell starts vibrating indicating an incoming call. He, of course, answers the call and once again places his cell up against his ear. "Yo."

"'Ey, Lux. I just wanted to call you, say wassup. Some weirdo just called me. Think he was tryna sell something if I'm honest."

"That so? Fucker better not call you again."

"That's what I said. Anyways, are you busy right now? You want to do somethin'?"

"Yeah. Let's get something to eat."

"I'm down with that. I haven't eaten anything fulfilling for hours now. I'm so hungry, papi."

"This guy. I'll meet you downstairs."

"Roger that, Captain Cook." After Lux hangs up, he meets with Klaus outside near the front door.

"You ready?"

"Uh-huh," Klaus happily nods. With that, the two leave the estate grounds to begin their search throughout the south district for a place to eat.

"Know any good food joints?" Lux inquiries, his hands comfortably placed behind his head.

"Nah, I'm cool with a burger."

Lux chuckles as he shakes his head, wrapping his tattooed arm around Klaus's neck as they walk forward in unison. "C'mon, man."

The search lasts for some time. The two finally settle on a small burger restaurant they find on the far west side of the district. The building's exterior is a sizable yellow painted build with wide, vertical windows that expose its interior.

Above it, directly in front of its roof, is a bright neon light in the shape of a burger, along with the words to spell out the name of the restaurant: GASTRO'S BAR AND GRILL. They see male and female Abnormals entering and exiting the establishment, talking and laughing amongst each other. Lux looks back at Klaus, not hesitating to ask for his thoughts.

"What do you think?"

"That burger looks so good. They should make signs edible. Gonna attract more customers that way. I wanna eat the A."

"This place it is, then."

With Klaus walking beside Lux, the two of them step inside. You would need to turn left past a small hallway before you can see the entire place. The inside has more space than Lux and Klaus initially thought. The floors are a clean tan color, with walls and the ceiling matching its skin. To their immediate left, stepping forward near the windows, are small tables with brown legs and white surfaces with large, tan tinted, two-sided booths.

To their right is a long, brown bar counter with a white surface, and high chairs matching its color. Behind the bar counter, is a grill area where a man's voice yelling orders can be heard from the back. Far forward, near the back walls where the windows don't reach is an entertainment area. It's a wide area with a brown carpet covering the floor with small, but wide ceiling lights.

There's dart boards, pool tables, and smaller tables for you to sit and drink. Soft music plays in the background. Abnormals are either walking in or leaving the establishment, steadily emptying and filling in the tables and booths along with their friends and company. Everyone seems to be enjoying their time eating while talking amongst themselves in the entertainment area.

"Huh, ain't bad in here. Pretty busy too," Lux mentions, nodding in respect as he glances in multiple directions.

"One, two, three, four...that guy has too many buttons on his shirt! He's gone too far!"

"'Ey, red is red and blue is blue."

"Yeah...Yeah, I knew that."

"Yeah, you did. We're gonna sit over there."

The duo walk over to one of the two sided booths that's closer to the door. Lux sits on the far side while Klaus sits on the door side. Klaus taps the table surface with his finger then pokes his head after. "Hm. It's confirmed, these tables are nigh indestructible," he declares before he quickly decides to glance around in curiosity. Eventually, he turns his attention back to Lux, who motions his hand for a waitress to come over. "You think they'll let you keep the straws?"

"Dunno. Ask 'em. Look at the menu and figure out what you want, 'ight?"

Klaus picks up a small menu that's in front of him, trailing his eyes up and down the variety of food. Lux does the same as he leans back in his seat, holding the menu with one hand. Once they've decided on meals that caught their eye, and nod to themselves in confirmation.

"You find somethin' you like?" Lux asks from his side of the table.

"I hope so."

"Heh, good enough answer as I'm gonna get."

After a short time, Lux and Klaus notice a waitress approaching their booth. She's a gorgeous young woman with long, curly blonde hair, wearing a black shirt with black jeans and matching shoes that Lux feels doesn't really compliment her look. She's also wearing a neat white apron with her name tag on her right chest, along with a smaller pin above displaying the establishment logo.

Unlike the surrounding waitresses, Lux notices that she's wearing slick white gloves on both her hands. She gives Lux and Klaus a warm, friendly and welcoming smile as she speaks in a soft, professional tone.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to Gastro's. My name is Bailey and I'll be taking care of you both for tonight. Order whenever you're ready."

"Before I order anything from this place, I wanna know right now if you let customers keep their straws." Klaus' demands are centered by five taps on the surface of the table with his index finger. Startled, Bailey cocks her head back. Once she takes a moment to reassemble her mind, she tentatively answers her customers' concerns.

"U-Um...yes, sir. You can keep your straws."

"Fucking A. Five stars!" Klaus exclaims, holding up his hand for a high-five before lowering it under her confused gaze.

"I'll have the Gastro Special, no tomatoes. My friend over here wants your six piece chicken strip tray with fries, hold the salt. And I want your strongest drink. He's gettin' water." Lux places the order, his eyes still trained on her. Bailey quickly writes down Lux and Klaus's orders on a small notepad held in her gloved hands. After she's finished, she begins to repeat the order, keeping her warm smile.

"Alright, one Gastro Special, no tomatoes, with a six piece strip tray and fries, no salt. Also one Fastbender and one water. We'll have your order in just a few moments. Can I interest you gentlemen with an appetizer before then?"

"Nah, don't worry about it."

"Yeah. Go and get our food you gummy bear."

"A-Alright. I'll be back in a few moments," she answers, not knowing whether to be offended or amused.

"Gummy bear?" Lux inquiries after letting out a laugh.

"She's got smooth, gelled skin and blonde hair."

"That's it? Eh, guess she's probably been called worse."

"Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't keep the hair though. Gummy bears don't have them. Wouldn't make any sense."

"You're something else, man. So talk to me, how are you feelin' about all this?"

"With being here?"

"Nah, I wanna talk about how globes work."

"I'm still tryna figure it out to this day."

"There's no way out of this one. Answer the question."

"Hmmm...Well, it isn't a bad question. ...It's kinda odd."

"If you're saying this place is odd then we need to leave."

"I mean like, there's a bunch of people here, right? We all got powers and everything, but we're living like we're regular. Normal. It's strange."

"Can't even argue with that. Gotta whole Abnormal society out in the middle of nowhere. What does that even mean for us?"

"No idea. To be honest, my brains that combine into a bigger brain are just ignoring it for now. This place is way better than prison."

"You're right. For us, that's a good way of looking at it."

Lux and Klaus talk to each other for some time while they wait for the order. After a short while, Bailey once again approaches their booth with two trays of food in her hands. "Sorry for the wait," she says in a gentle tone, placing a tray with a burger alongside a large glass mug of beer in front of Lux. She then pivots a bit to unload the tray of tender strips along with a glass cup of water in front of Klaus.

"Here you are. I hope you enjoy it. Can I do anything else for you?"

"Nah, you're good," Lux replies.

"Alright, then. You gentlemen have a good evening."

Bailey turns around and walks off to another booth. As she does, Lux follows her with interested eyes. Klaus notices the long glance as he takes a bite of one of the strips. "You like gummy bears, eh?"

"Funny. I'm not that interested in blondes. It's something else that's irking me. She did have a nice rack, though."

"Yeah, I could put a lot of coats up there if you know what I mean."

Lux releases another chuckle before he begins eating. As time goes by, more and more Abnormals start to leave. He looks at the large bun shaped clock on the wall above the door to notice it's later than he expected. Deciding that's why the place is clearing out, he cocks his head to the right to notice a young man with short brown hair wearing an unbuttoned Ethereal uniform sitting alone at the bar. Who knows how long he's been there, hiding in plain sight amongst the throngs of his counterparts that have since vacated the premises.

There's a few men playing pool in the back as well, although Lux can't see them, only hear them. As the two fill up on the last of their food, they lean back in their seats in satisfaction. "Damm, that was good," Lux hurls into the conversation after releasing a burp.

"With you on that. Think we should come here more often. Sign up for permanent residency."

"I'm with it. ...Hey, do you remember when we first met?" He asks, the retro-like atmosphere causing him to reminisce.

"Not forgetting it. Cafeteria fight, lotta guys and girls took that chance to try and kill you. Get the fuck back, inmates! Harrison, get the saw!" Klaus exclaims in a charged voice, mimicking a Silver Cloud guard while he places one hand over his mouth as if it were a speakerphone.

"Yeah. I got shived so many times with Anti, doc said another one would've probably killed me. And that was the one some dumbass with yellow hair took for me. Still never told me why."

"I told you. You look just like a character from some superhero anime I used to watch."

"You bullshitin' so much the toilets clogged up."

"Well, don't tell Lux this, but I might've thought he was attractive. Had nice shoulders ya know? Plus, he always got into fights, so everybody knew who he was at that point."

"I did beat the shit out of a lot of people, ain't gonna lie. It was fun too."

"And that's why you got fucked up."

Klaus and Lux share a laugh. When Lux glances outside the window, he realizes he's ready to hang it up himself. "'Ight, it's about that time. You ready to bounce?"

"Yeah. I got all the straws I need."

"Heh. C'mon, dumbass."

Lux and Klaus slide out of their booths and stand up. Lux leaves the pay on the surface of the table with a nice tip as they exit the restaurant. The two of them begin walking along the sidewalk facing away from the restaurant. The streets and sidewalks are pretty much empty, with only a few Abnormals walking on the ones parallel to them, presumably traveling to their homes.

Klaus starts chewing on one of the straws from his collection while Lux places his hands in his pockets. The two of them hear a commotion in front of them as they walk. There's four young men with ragged Ethereal uniforms all surrounding a young woman trying to get her attention as they step alongside her.

"'Ey, come on, Bailey..."

"Yeah, we had so much fun last time."

"We'll even let you wear a mask this time to spice things up," another soldier adds.

"As long as you're sucking us off."

The four men seem completely drunk, slurring on their words. The young woman lowers her head and continues to walk in an attempt to ignore them. "L-Leave me alone...I don't want to do that ever again."

"What?" the one who seems to be leading their predatory congregation asks. "What did she just say?"

"Come on, bitch. You were so excited last time." A short guy with a head bigger than his body added, poking at her backside.

"I thought you guys liked me..." she answered in almost a whisper.

"AHAHA!!! Are you guys hearing this?! If you won't let us take you home, we could always do it out here." a third soldier yelled, cackling like a marauding scoundrel.

"What?" She asks, a wave of panic suddenly running through her veins.

"Grab her," the leader orders with the others following it without question.

"Let go of me!" She screams when two of the men suddenly take a hold of her arms and drag her into an alleyway.

"Shut the fuck up!" Another can be heard shouting at her.

"Don't let anyone hear this shit," the shortest of the assailants calls out.

The young woman yelps when the same two men kick her stomach. Another one puts his hand over her mouth while another starts to unzip his pants. "Just sit still, bitch."

Lux and Klaus step into the alleyway, glancing towards the back while Klaus continues to casually chew his straw as he speaks. "They look like they're havin' fun."

"Sure do."

The duo walk down the alleyway, the two men continue to kick the young woman, then grab her arms to stand her back up. She feebly attempts to fight back, but her strength can't match theirs. During the struggle, one of her gloves rips off and she quickly starts to panic. "N-No! Please! My glove!"

"Shut up and sit still!"

One of the men raises his hand to strike the young woman, when he does she instinctively raises her arm to block the strike with her exposed hand. When the man's hand touches the woman's, he screams loudly as his hand starts to decay. "Ahhhh! Fuck, fuck!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The leader shouts in her face.

"I-I'm sorry! P-Please don't hurt me! Please!"

"Fuck this! After we're done, we need to get rid of her."

"What? Woah, woah, I didn't agree to that," the shortest objects.

"Would be pretty smart, though," Lux says aloud, causing three of the men to immediately turn around when they hear voices. Ignoring their friend on the ground shivering with what's left of his hand. "Got no witnesses either. Oh, wait. We're seein' this aren't we, Klaus?"

"Yup. Good thing I got my contacts in."

"If we're seein' this, that means we're witnesses, yeah?"

"Yup."

"Who the fuck are these guys?" The initiator spits out, looking them up and down.

"I don't know. Probably some shitheads tryna be white knights," the third predator responds.

"Get rid of 'em then we'll deal with this shit."

Two of the men step up to Lux and Klaus, their bodies beginning to light up with aggressive, green energy. "Fuck off, dickheads."

"We used to be part of the Ethereal military."

"The Ethereal military?! Ohhhh, shit! No way!" Klaus says in a sarcastic urgency.

"We better be careful, Klaus, or they're gonna fuck us up," Lux jokingly adds.

Unfortunately for the soldiers who rushed forward, they're easily overpowered by Lux's strength and Klaus' speed. Lux dodges two of the extended punches put forth by the first soldier, instantly counter-striking with a devastating gut punch that flings him into the air.

The second soldier doesn't last long, not noticing that he's already dangling by his jacket on a distant street pole. The last two men turn around in shock, they were expecting to have a little fun tonight, not whatever this is.

"What...? Who the fuck are these guys?!" Shrivel hand asks, on his feet once again. "Fuck this shit, man! My hand is fucked! I can't fight these guys!"

The two men run past Lux and Klaus in an attempt to escape. Klaus laughs, clapping his hands, completely entertained. "Run! Run as fast you can! Ha ha!"

"Give them a head start."

As Lux and Klaus wait a moment, Klaus takes out another straw and begins chewing on it after tossing the previous one away. "I think I should give everybody a straw. You know, like a gift."

"Man, nobody is going to want to keep a straw."

"Oh, yeah? If they don't have a straw, how are they gonna drink things?"

"Alright. You've got me there. Times up. Go get 'em."

Electricity flickers around Klaus' body. In a split second, he's gone then back again. "Uhhh...one of 'em mighta tripped on his head. I think he's dead."

"Not our problem."

Lux walks up to the young woman, who's sitting against the brick wall crying to herself. Her clothes are ripped, her hand tucked into whatever material is left. "Please don't hurt me...Please don't hurt me..."

"Hey. Your name is Bailey, right?"

The young woman responds to the name and looks up. After a light sniff, she slowly wipes her flood of tears away. "Y-Yes...that's my name..."

"Stand up and stop cryin'. They're gone."

Slowly pushing herself to a standing position, she scans her surroundings. Too afraid to watch, she didn't realize what was transpiring while she was crying and hiding her face. "H-Huh? I-I...I thought..." Bailey's weeping makes a return. Tears run down her cheeks as she locks eyes with Lux, thanking him as much as she can. "Thank you...T-Thank you..."

"It's cool. We fucked them up so we could have you for ourselves."

"W-What?"

"I'm messin' with you. Got a little scared there, eh?"

Bailey's weeping slowly comes to an end, quietly letting out a laugh. It doesn't keep her from shedding more tears, however.

"'Ight, stop with the waterworks. I told you they're gone."

"I-I know...I-I'm sorry."

"The hell did they want with you?"

"I..." her voice trails off. She immediately looks away from Lux, completely ashamed. Not bothered to ask anymore questions, he turns around to leave.

"You know your way home?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Go home, then. They ain't gonna bother you anymore tonight. We're out, Klaus."

Lux walks off without saying another word. Klaus then looks down at Bailey, and slides a brand new straw into her strands of hair. "I think you're a nice gummy bear and you didn't deserve this. You have a good night now." he says softly to calm her nerves. After patting Bailey's head, Klaus steps away to catch up with Lux. From a short walk, Lux and Klaus return to Kenvale and enter into the main area.

"We ate and beat somebody's ass. I kinda feel like you now, Lux."

"That's what I do. Nothin' more, nothin' less."

"Welp, it's 'bout high time I hit the hay. Got pigs and hogs to tend to in the mornin'."

"Heh, 'ight."

Klaus and Lux motion their hands forward to partake in a handshake, then Klaus turns around and begins walking up the stairs, clicking his teeth as he does. "You sleep well now."

Klaus starts humming a tune as he continues to step towards his room. Lux does the same, but without humming. When he enters his room and closes the door behind him, he sees Sakuro laying on a mat that's her size on the floor near the window, with Ichi sleeping soundly next to her. Sakuro glances across the room when she hears someone enter. After she sees Lux, she grins, feeling better now that he's returned home. "Good night, Brother..."

Only taking his shirt off, Lux flops onto the right side of his bed, almost instantly falling asleep after he feels comfortable in a certain spot. Just another night in his life.