The Maltese Falcon (Sharaku/Rita)

Another late night at the dive Miyu found herself working at. It wasn't any place special, fairly average in every sense of the word, but you weren't likely to be stabbed here which was in itself a plus. She mindlessly cleaned off one of the bar glasses, finding herself dozing off every now and again. What did she do to deserve the graveyard shift on such a dead night like tonight?

What's worse, she felt odd feelings of being watched every now and again, or something lightly brushing up against her leg or forearm when in actuality nothing was there. She's been feeling these damnable shakes every since she first took those damn damnable pills. Hopefully going cold turkey would help get her off them, even if the side-effects were maddening right now.

"C'mon Miyu, just another couple of hours then you can close up and go home and pass out for twelve hours and do absolutely nothing." She said to herself, sighing as she put the glass she's been furiously rubbing with a bar rag for ten minutes. God she was bored. It was making her mind wander, and she didn't like it.

...why was she here again? A bar was right in front of her... a friend stood behind her... and her reason was...? "2 AM... Jeez..." It was the weekend and Rita had nothing else to do... but what in the Seven Hells made her come to a BAR of all places? She wasn't an alcoholic... hell, she didn't even like it... but for some reason, she grabbed her phone about an hour ago, called Sharaku and decided to come here... a bar that she heard had an amazing bartender... but... why? A feeling of sudden impact hit her head and she swung forward a bit while trying to keep her balance... a headache? Like a supernatural being was telling her to stop thinking so hard about it... like she was led here for a reason she wasn't supposed to question... simply accepting this fact, Rita rubbed her head and balanced herself right once more, throwing Sharaku a smile to say that she was fine. "I guess just a sudden headache... nothing to worry about, it's gone now..." She had felt this way before... with the books... and Sharaku, even... what was this feeling, exactly? She couldn't answer right now but she swore she'd find the answers eventually... pushing open the front door, Rita said with a semi-loud voice, enough for anyone inside to hear, while not piercing anyone's ears, since it was late. "Hello? Excuse me!" Looking to the counter, Rita saw there a very drowsy-looking... man? Maybe a woman? She couldn't tell exactly, the person looked very androgynous to her... though she entered a bit further and sat down by the counter. "Yeah... excuse me! A-A strawberry milk.. please..." She wasn't used to dealing with bartenders... thankfully, the bar was dead empty and only her, Sharaku and the young bartender were inside, no-one was outside either, which was odd to her... the night really was dead today... looking at the bartender, Rita blushed a little bit, not really comfortable with new people... but she maintained her poker face... though her clothes were... not really very usual to wear around here either... dressed almost completely in black, Rita's trench coat almost hit the ground as she sat down, though she didn't mind, it'd have to be cleaned soon anyway... waiting for her order, Rita sat waiting for Sharaku to sit down too... though she had no idea what his reasons for coming with her were either...

The moment someone came in, Miyu shook her head and put on a smile. "Welcome!" She said cheerily as she leaned over the bar, noting that one of the two patrons looked a bit too small for a place like this. The girl's voice would make it a bit more clear that she was female, but then again, she could always be a guy with a soft voice.

"Strawberry milk, huh?" She asked with a smile as she leaned over the counter to look at the girl. Alright, but you know, you can buy this stuff at he corner store. You don't have to go to a bar to get it, ya know? She teased before standing upright, snapping her fingers and pointing to the girls companion to indicate she got his order.

Within moments, she was spinning bottles into the air and mixing all sorts of colorful liquids into a glass for Sharaku, eventually cultivating in a Screwdriver since she felt like making one. She slid it over to him before going under the counter and coming back up with a carton of strawberry milk to put into a glass that would usually be used for beer, and placing it in front of Rita.

"There you go, you two. Enjoy. And if you don't mind me saying, you seem like quite the odd couple." She pointed out, looking between the two before sighing. "Name's Miyu, Miyu Sasaki. Charmed to meet the both of ya."

Looking a bit more cheerful since the bartender now actually sounded a bit like a girl, Rita laid back a bit and put on a half-smiling poker face... though if the person actually was a girl or not was unknown to her... Her silver hair flowed a bit before stopping as the door to the bar swung close after Sharaku entered, Rita giving him a smile for putting up with her like this.. she really had no idea why he even accepted. "Well, it's what I like to drink most... and I hate the one in that store... tastes like the strawberry's not properly mixed in with the milk... and shaking it does nothing..." Answering to both of them at the same time, Rita gave a little more detail to Sharaku's joking question. "W-well... depends on my mood..." Watching as the bartender swung around bottles with ease also made Rita... very impressed... just as she was with Sharaku... almost as if these two were... some kind of jesters or something... taking her drink, Rita took a sip of it... "Nya..." A meow escaped her lips... though even she didn't know why... the milk was straight out of a packet so... why did it taste so good...? "W-wow..." She watched in awe as the milk... actually tasted like the milk and the strawberry had been mixed together... what sorcery was this?! Disregarding questions, Rita contented herself with drinking it, keeping her poker face when the bartender said they were a couple, simply replying with: "He's my brother." Though this was a joke to see if she could get a reaction out of Sharaku... though Rita doubted such a simple thing was gonna hit him hard enough for such... Looking now at the bartender who just introduced... herself? Rita gave her a smile and did the same. "I'm Rita Arisato, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sasaki-san!" Giving her the kindest smile she could muster, Rita went back to drinking her milk, waiting for Sharaku to say his peace as well.

Miyu has a warm smile on her face as the two bantered for a moment and they introduced themselves. She also found herself chortling to herself, because she reached down and pulled out the half-empty carton of strawberry milk and set it on the bar. "Well Nyan-chan, funny you seem to enjoy the milk so much since this stuff is from that exact store you seem to dislike." Miyu said with a smug smirk. She also took it upon herself to already give Rita a nickname, because she sure as hell wasn't going to let her live down making that cat noise any time soon.

Putting her hand on her hip, she looked over at Sharaku, who seemed to be a very easygoing fella from first impressions. So what kind of brother takes their little sister out to a bar so late at night. Y'know the city can get awful dangerous at this time. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to kick the ass of anyone that tries to pray on you two innocent souls." Miyu was mostly joking. She wasn't exactly a woman of conflict, it seemed like a waste of time to fight over someone you just met.

"So are you two going to ask if I'm a boy or a girl yet, or do you like the mystery of it?" Miyu bluntly asked, looking back and forth between the two is a mischievous smile. It seems like they wouldn't be the first to be confused as to what her gender was, from the tone of her voice.

Since the girl was apparently eager to try and be smart, Rita knew just how to answer this one little retort. "Funnily enough, I figured... though there's... something different about this one... did you do something to it? This one tastes delicious and the store-bought one is so... bleeeeh..." And she didn't particularly mind the nickname either... she liked it, even... Nyan-chan... suited her, she found... Though her comment towards Sharaku earned her a bit of a giggle from Rita. "Actually, I called him here in the first place and second of all, we can defend ourselves, you know?" Nodding to this, Rita just sipped her milk... just what the hell did this girl do to make this milk so delicious...? "I doubt anyone would dare come to try and prey on us with such a strong-looking man as Sharaku around..." Though a laugh at the end marked this little comment as a joke... but this laugh would suddenly escalate and turn into a fit of giggles before breaking out in actual laughter and tearful eyes... "Hahahaha! Sharaku, you're the best, really! Perfect answer!" Hugging her sides, Rita calmed down a little bit before wiping a tear off her eye. "Oh, you're most definitely a girl, Miyu-san... I can feel it, only a woman can make crappy strawberry milk taste this good!" Raising her glass, Rita may or may not have gotten drunk off the atmosphere... she must be very lightweight then... A clear blush present on her face, Rita was still able to keep herself at least a little bit composed... she didn't want to give a bad impression to someone she just met and most of all, to Sharaku... so she straightened her back a bit more and was just calmer, trying to keep herself conscious while she waited for both their replies...

"Nope." Miyu said bluntly, with little change in her facial expression. "What, you think we'd import some fancy milk here when we can just walk down the street and get some?" Though she was really going to let this girl think whatever she wanted, it was true that it was the very same milk that she claimed to not enjoy.

Nodding with Sharaku's suggestion to ground Rita, she sighed when the two of them decided to brush off her joke to protect the two of them. "You two really know how to make a girl feel special. Here I am offering my life and limb to the both of you and you both say you don't need it." She shrugged with a huff, before lazily looking at Sharaku. "Though ya gotta point. Fighting with people can be a bit of a pain."

She listened to the two discuss her gender, and chuckled at the both of their comments. Yeah, they sure as heck weren't your average every day city-goers with their line of thinking. "Vaguely sexist, but I'll take it." She commented towards Rita. "You might want to take it easy with the drink, though. Don't wanna hurt yourself." She poked fun at the girl before stretching out her back and running the fingers of her right hand through her short hair. Suddenly, she'd feel a chill up her spine, and her breath would hitch and her calm demeanor would vanish for a moment as she looked behind her, swearing she heard or felt something a minute ago, before shaking her head and smiling. "Sorry, got a chill all of the sudden." She quickly came up with an excuse. God, she was losing it. Maybe she should take a couple days off and go to Standasen to clear her mind. "Anyway, you sure you don't want me to make you anything sweeter, buddy?" She said to Sharaku, apparently noticing his qualms with the drink she made for him, since after about two or three years she was able to notice the little tics people gave off, in this case concerning the taste of their drink. "You don't drink a whole lot, huh? A lot of guys don't enjoy the sweeter stuff because it's girly, but I say they're missing out. Sometimes you need to sweeten your life up a little." She commentated before looking at Rita. It's why you'd keep girls like her around, she supposed, even if she might not turn out to be what Miyu expected. No one ever is how they appear on the surface, in her experience.

Rita was still not fully convinced by Miyu's words... the milk tasted different... she just knew it. "Alright, I'll believe you... then the secret must be in the glass..." She was acting silly now but, honestly, she didn't mind if the two looked at her funny or something. "Okay, I'll make a deal with you!" Pointing her finger at Miyu, Rita had a smirk on her face. "Let me pour another packet to the same type of glass, if it tastes the same, I'll believe you did nothing to this milk!" Indeed, Rita was just... silly. She didn't even know what would happen but the milk tasted so bad before, she just knew she had to do that... and then the fighting comments. "Hmph, you really think a gentleman like Sharaku and a lady like me are going to let such a sweet girl get hurt?" The boasting came at the speed of light, maybe it was a bit of a flirt but Rita didn't care, she said it for the kicks... though their next comments from each of them... hurt her, a bit... "H-hey, I didn't mean it like that... J-just... my mom always made the worst stuff taste great, you see...?" Rita felt bad now... her parents' death was something she never really got to the bottom of... and, at the same time Miyu got a chill, her head would jerk forward while she clutched it, a headache again... "D-damn... this again...?" She ground her teeth and waited for it to stop, calming herself... strangely, she stood back in relief at pretty much the same time as Miyu... "So, you have it too..." She whispered to herself, making sure none of them could hear her... that feeling... what was it...? Whenever she thought of it, the color blue was all she could see... the world around her drowned her in her own mind and she couldn't think properly... silence surrounded her at those times... what was this...? "Ah, actually, I wanna ask you something!" Looking at Miyu again, Rita smiled cheerfully. "Do you recommend any good non-alcoholic drinks? I've heard the Shirley Temple's good... but I don't like soda..." She dispelled the thought of the headaches into the back of her mind, instead focusing on the matter at hand. "So yeah, I kinda wanna know what's good..." She was speaking more clearly now... seems the headache removed any traces of background drunkenness... Rita waited for the pair's answers while sipping her milk, not really caring about the deal she made with Miyu before.

Miyu looked at Sharaku like "Really?" when Rita insisted it had to be the glass changing it, shrugging and shaking her head while doing so. Kids these days sure are stubborn. She gauged Rita's reaction when she brought up her mom. She's been bartending long enough to know the tone of her voice indicated and her diction made it clear that for some reason her mother might not be able to do that for the girl anymore. She didn't press the subject. Her job was to listen to other people's troubles, not press them about it.

Miyu would have no idea what Rita's freak-out would be about, but she had a good idea where hers was stemming from. Ever since she took those pills like some kind of idiot she's been getting the shakes, hearing things that aren't there, feeling things that never touched her. She wish she had the money to see a doctor, because it seemed that she was already going through withdrawals for whatever reason.

"Sorry, just uh, had a chill up my spine, ya know?" Miyu laughed a fake laugh after Sharaku spoke up about the girls minor freak out. "Ah, drinks, right. Sorry sweetie, but unless you're wanting something that isn't a Roy Rodgers or a Shirley Temple, you're not getting much that isn't soda or booze here." Miyu said as she began to work the bar, taking a bottle of dark rum and filling a mug up with hot water. She made an interesting drink, putting in cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter into it before leaning on the counter and casually tossing her bottle of dark rum into the air with one hand and catching the neck of it in mid-air, finishing off the drink by pouring some of it in there and mixing it up some.

"Here you go handsome." She said as she slid the glass down to Sharaku, the cinnamon fragrance suddenly filling the air around him, and the glass being noticeably warm to the touch. "Just be careful, something like that'll make you a bit drowsy at this time of night."

Rita pouted a bit at Miyu's look, thinking it was a bit mocking towards her... scoffing a bit and giving a "hmph" sound, Rita turned back to the both of them. "You don't really have to feel that way towards me, my parents died when I was really young so all my memories of them are vague ones... I guess that specific one just stuck with me over the others..." Shrugging, Rita wasn't really aiming to turn this conversation very serious... but yet, she had to justify herself... though she looked at Miyu oddly after she noticed her freak-out... though it wasn't as much of that as it was just a sudden headache... "Well, I dunno what to say now... I just suddenly got an intense headache right there and I have no idea why..." Taking another sip of the milk, Rita tried checking the bar for anything she liked... though it really was a moot point to try and order something alcoholic, not only did she not like that stuff, Miyu wouldn't let her drink since she's still technically a minor... "Well then, alright, I'll take a Shirley Temple." Drinking the last few bits of her milk, Rita wiped the little remaining bits off her lip with the back of her hand and looked again in awe as Miyu mixed the various ingredients to create Sharaku his drink... "Jeez, girly, you should be in a circus doing juggling acts... we at the Biggest Top wouldn't mind an extra employee, you know?" A bit jokingly, Rita didn't really plan on making Miyu join the circus at all, much less as a performer... hell, even she was just a caretaker there after school... still, though, she had to get the little comment in, try and get a reaction out of Miyu, maybe make her a bit more... eh, loose, if you will...