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[Sometimes, you find yourself caught inbetween worlds and dimensions, in places that don't necessarily function as a one-race world, but a melting pot of different people. Matatagi wasn't one to mingle when it came to hubs, instead opting to keep to himself as he sits down on a bench, eyes and ears open as he hears all that goes on around him. People bartering and trying to rip off the merchants that sold there. Scam artists selling fake products for double the price of the original. Children scampering around wanting to collect any change they could to afford something that night, only to get shoved away.
No matter where you go, people are always the same.]
Don't know why I expected to be surprised. Fake smiles and false kindness no matter where you go.
[A soft murmur to himself, once he realizes Minaho's out of earshot. After all, who else would eavesdrop in on that little footnote?
His arms fold, closing his eyes and waiting for Tenma to get his directions so they can go. The sooner they're away from this detour, the sooner they can get back to their mission.]
[Seeing a bunch of kids running around the market isn't unusual. These guys though. They seemed more organized than your typical group of street kids. So of course, they've got the big Qunari's attention.]
[He'd just happened to overhear that little comment. Mostly because he'd been listening in. You could take the man out of the Ben-Hassrath, but good fucking luck taking the training out of the man. Probably why the kid didn't notice him, even as big as he was.]
[But he's not going for subtle now, plunking himself down on a barrel nearby and ripping off a hunk of those egg pie things the stall was selling a few feet away.]
Next time, don't flash your coin before you walk up. Harder for 'em to cheat you that way.
[Matatagi's back straightens up when he realizes he's not alone. And it's not until Bull sits down that he realizes just what KIND of company he's attracted. The big, strong, could probably-bend-you-into-a-pretzel kind. Intimidating doesn't even begin to describe it, and his body language all but emanates that as he sits up straighter, trying to make him at least seem less like a sorry asshole than when Bull first sat down.
The man (was he even a man) had to be at least 7 feet tall, much taller than Ibuki or even Kusaka, and that wasn't including the two giant protruding horns coming from his head. His build suggested that he tended to wear clothes to form to his body, instead of his body forming to the clothes. He had an air about him...and while Matatagi always had mistrust of people...it was men (or women) like this guy that made him on edge the most.
His eyes flick a shade darker, despite being shiny and clear...and a smile forms on his face, one hand behind his neck.]
Ah, yeah. It's nothing really--I didn't have much cash on me, anyway. [Not wrong, even back on Earth he was as poor as they come.] Nothing that they'd trade for currency here...
[Phew. Hopefully that eased him out of the situation.]
[Bull doesn't look away. He sizes the kid up while he keeps on tearing off pieces of the egg pie, chewing on it absentmindedly. He's seen some damn good liars in his time.]
[It's just surprising to see one in a kid that young.]
What's your name?
[No preamble. No comment on the words. Just another question.]
[He can tell he's being watched. Something about the way the guy's eye is trained on him. Not that he cared--what did it matter if some big guy thought he was shifty? Let him think what he wants, he tells himself, although it does nothing to stop his hands from fidgeting as they interlace over his lap, elbows pressed on his thighs.]
Matatagi Hayato.
...First name Hayato.
[As if now realizing that he's not in Japanese company.]
[He sounds absentminded about it. Like it's really going to be an effort to remember that mouthful of a name. That much of a name on that tiny body -- tiny, nervous looking kid.]
[What the hell does he have to be nervous about? Besides, oh, say, the giant Qunari next to him.]
[You can practically hear the incredulous tone in his voice, thumb jutting out to nowhere in particular. With his patience obviously wearing thin, it's a little harder to hold back that black demon that seems to want to grip his heart, tongue sharper than it would usually be when he's making sure to save face.]
What, like Santa's? Next you'll be asking about dwarves.
[In answer, Bull jerks his own thumb toward the nearest group of pointed-eared people shopping nearby. Then, beside them, a bunch of aforementioned dwarves, selling armor and weaponry.]
Don't know who the hell "santa" is. But elves. [And back to the bearded merchants.] Dwarves.
Anything else you wanna get your shorts in a knot about?
[There's a change in the air. Something subtle. Something you really had to pay attention to notice. He'd bet actual coin the kid didn't realize he was putting off that change.]
[He leans back where he's sitting, his expression purposefully lazy.]
[Black eyes harden like steel, and you can practically hear the warning alarms as Matatagi stiffens up. That black aura, the one that invisibly gripped his heart every day when he woke up and every night before he fell into sleep, choked around him tighter. His hand clenches the fabric just above his heart, suddenly glaring daggers at the 'man'.
He doesn't care how big he is--all people were alike in the end. Two-faced.]
[Bull just watches. He doesn't say anything. Just watches the signs align. Watches the face change, and the tension flare. It's not really that big of a surprise when the kid goes from 0 to Daggers.]
[The silence between Matatagi's question and Bull's answer stretches. Longer and more uncomfortable.]
[He dusts his hands off.]
Color me curious. What crawled up your ass and died?
[He can feel his heart pulse angrily at that sentence, not just because of the words--believe him, he's heard far worse. But the know-it-all, condescending tone he heard it in just sealed the deal. There's no light in those dark eyes of his, the shines only amplifying just how bottomless they looked.
This schmuck...thinks he knows everything.
But adapting is what Matatagi does. He adapted when his father left, he adapted when his mother was hospitalized. He adapted when his family went hungry, when his friends turned their backs on him, when he realized he had no one left in the world except his family, his brothers.
He could handle some gigantic cow.]
What, expecting me to address you as Mr. or something?
[The Iron Bull shifts where he sits. Lifting a hand to scratch at his chin, and pretending he's not watching the way the kid hardens up. The way his eyes change. He has, without a doubt, hit some kind of nerve.]
[He snaps his fingers, like he's only just now realized something.
Oh -- authority problems. Adult issues. That sound about right?
[Probing. He's got good money on it being right, though.]
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Area Man Only One With Problems
No matter where you go, people are always the same.]
Don't know why I expected to be surprised. Fake smiles and false kindness no matter where you go.
[A soft murmur to himself, once he realizes Minaho's out of earshot. After all, who else would eavesdrop in on that little footnote?
His arms fold, closing his eyes and waiting for Tenma to get his directions so they can go. The sooner they're away from this detour, the sooner they can get back to their mission.]
area dad calls bullshit
[Seeing a bunch of kids running around the market isn't unusual. These guys though. They seemed more organized than your typical group of street kids. So of course, they've got the big Qunari's attention.]
[He'd just happened to overhear that little comment. Mostly because he'd been listening in. You could take the man out of the Ben-Hassrath, but good fucking luck taking the training out of the man. Probably why the kid didn't notice him, even as big as he was.]
[But he's not going for subtle now, plunking himself down on a barrel nearby and ripping off a hunk of those egg pie things the stall was selling a few feet away.]
Next time, don't flash your coin before you walk up. Harder for 'em to cheat you that way.
no subject
[Matatagi's back straightens up when he realizes he's not alone. And it's not until Bull sits down that he realizes just what KIND of company he's attracted. The big, strong, could probably-bend-you-into-a-pretzel kind. Intimidating doesn't even begin to describe it, and his body language all but emanates that as he sits up straighter, trying to make him at least seem less like a sorry asshole than when Bull first sat down.
The man (was he even a man) had to be at least 7 feet tall, much taller than Ibuki or even Kusaka, and that wasn't including the two giant protruding horns coming from his head. His build suggested that he tended to wear clothes to form to his body, instead of his body forming to the clothes. He had an air about him...and while Matatagi always had mistrust of people...it was men (or women) like this guy that made him on edge the most.
His eyes flick a shade darker, despite being shiny and clear...and a smile forms on his face, one hand behind his neck.]
Ah, yeah. It's nothing really--I didn't have much cash on me, anyway. [Not wrong, even back on Earth he was as poor as they come.] Nothing that they'd trade for currency here...
[Phew. Hopefully that eased him out of the situation.]
no subject
[It's just surprising to see one in a kid that young.]
What's your name?
[No preamble. No comment on the words. Just another question.]
no subject
Matatagi Hayato.
...First name Hayato.
[As if now realizing that he's not in Japanese company.]
no subject
[He sounds absentminded about it. Like it's really going to be an effort to remember that mouthful of a name. That much of a name on that tiny body -- tiny, nervous looking kid.]
[What the hell does he have to be nervous about? Besides, oh, say, the giant Qunari next to him.]
Never seen a Qunari before, eh?
no subject
[It comes out bluntly, as if it was obvious that 'what are you' was on his mind.]
We're from Earth, so...not a lot of 'Qunari' there or whatever. Just humans.
[CAN WE BE DONE NOW.]
no subject
[He should really feel bad, but eh.]
How 'bout elves?
[No we're not done here.]
no subject
[You can practically hear the incredulous tone in his voice, thumb jutting out to nowhere in particular. With his patience obviously wearing thin, it's a little harder to hold back that black demon that seems to want to grip his heart, tongue sharper than it would usually be when he's making sure to save face.]
What, like Santa's? Next you'll be asking about dwarves.
no subject
Don't know who the hell "santa" is. But elves. [And back to the bearded merchants.] Dwarves.
Anything else you wanna get your shorts in a knot about?
no subject
Like out of Sword of the Kings, right?
[Not that he expects Bull to know that, if he didn't know who Santa was. Fine, if this guy wants to small talk so bad, he'll small talk.]
They're stuff in stories back on Earth.
no subject
[There's a change in the air. Something subtle. Something you really had to pay attention to notice. He'd bet actual coin the kid didn't realize he was putting off that change.]
[He leans back where he's sitting, his expression purposefully lazy.]
So what crawled up your ass and died, eh?
no subject
He doesn't care how big he is--all people were alike in the end. Two-faced.]
What kind of question is that?
no subject
[The silence between Matatagi's question and Bull's answer stretches. Longer and more uncomfortable.]
[He dusts his hands off.]
Color me curious. What crawled up your ass and died?
no subject
This schmuck...thinks he knows everything.
But adapting is what Matatagi does. He adapted when his father left, he adapted when his mother was hospitalized. He adapted when his family went hungry, when his friends turned their backs on him, when he realized he had no one left in the world except his family, his brothers.
He could handle some gigantic cow.]
What, expecting me to address you as Mr. or something?
no subject
[The Iron Bull shifts where he sits. Lifting a hand to scratch at his chin, and pretending he's not watching the way the kid hardens up. The way his eyes change. He has, without a doubt, hit some kind of nerve.]
[He snaps his fingers, like he's only just now realized something.
Oh -- authority problems. Adult issues. That sound about right?
[Probing. He's got good money on it being right, though.]