An Arcadian Beauty [Closed]

"Do you really think I'm going to let you walk out of here like that?" a smooth voices whispered in her ear as a strong hand wrapped around her slender wrist. This voice belonged to Jason Dolland, a wealthy business man who made his way to Varedia for a vacation. He pulled her back toward him and pushed her up against the wall beside the office door. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie. His hair was brushed back and his glasses down to the tip of his nose. He was an attractive looking man, intelligent, but selfish. He was the type that always got what he wanted, even if he didn't deserve it. He was so used to it that it was hard for him to accept rejection, especially from a woman. And that is exactly what had happened. He invited someone into his vacation house for what he would call a party, not informing her of what he actually wanted. He was good with his words, so she expected nothing bad. That was different now. His words were slurred and he wasn't the gentleman he had been before. He decided to get drunk before she had even arrived to the party. This was not what she was wanting.

"Look, keep your fucking hands off of me or I'll have your ass arrested!" Natalie replied to his advances with anger and a smack across the face. He looked to her in shock, but that expression quickly turned to anger. Natalie felt her heart skip a beat when he advanced on her again. This time it was much rougher. He placed his right hand on her chest and pushed her harder against the wall. His left hand grabbed her wrist and pinned it against the wall. He pressed himself against her, bringing right hand from her chest and up to her chin to force him to look at her. "Come on, Nat. I invited you here for a party, so let's have some fun." he said in his smooth tone again, but she glared at him. He obviously thought bad of her. She may not be an enemy to the idea of having some fun with a man every now and then, but she definitely doesn't just give herself to anyone. There are certain standards she has, and being drunk off your ass was not one of them.

"You're drunk. I'm not doing a damn thing with you! Now, get your hands off of me!" she demanded, shooting her knee up toward his groin. The unexpected shot to his balls sent him buckling over. She stepped to the side and kicked him to the floor before hurrying out of the room. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor as she made her way down the fancy glass staircase. "Get back here, y-...Agh! Fine! Get out of my house you worthless whore!" he shouted down the hallway toward her. Luckily the music down stairs was loud enough that the other party guests did not hear, but Natalie did. She narrowed her eyes as she got to the bottom of the stairs and walked over to a large flat-screen TV. She picked up a decorative stone statue and threw it at the TV, shattering it. The drunken party guests looked on in shock, but then began laughing. She picked up the statue again and tossed it through the glass front doors, happily walking over the newly shattered glass.

Natalie hurried down the street, a small bag hanging from her hand by the strap. Her entire night was ruined and she was miles away from home. She just wanted to get back and as far away from this place as possible, but she couldn't walk the entire way. She sighed in shame. She knew exactly who she had to call. "STUPID BITCH!" she heard Jason's voice and turned to see him running toward her, "You think you can break my shit and just leave!?" Natalie turned and began running as quickly as she could. She was able to make it to the end of the street to turn, but her heel broke and she went tumbling to the ground. As Jason came around the corner, he saw Natalie laying there in pain and holding her ankle. "Serves you right. Ha." he said, laughing and walking away. "Asshole." Natalie mumbled under her breath. Seeing as he didn't return, she knew he must not have heard her. She sat up, took her heels off, and tried to stand up.

"Ow..." she winced and leaned up against a stone wall. Her ankle wasn't broken, but she twisted it enough to cause it to be very sore. She sighed again in shame and just sat down. She wasn't even sure where she was at this point. The only clue she had to go on was the Dolland Estate. Natalie reluctantly pulled out her phone and went to call the number, but refused to push send. She sat there for an hour before she gave in, after multiple failed tests to walk on her own, and finally called him. "Izumo..." she spoke sadly once he answered the phone, "I'm sorry... I did something stupid again." Natalie explained how she was invited to a party, but when she arrived he kept trying to force himself on her. She'd explain how she hit him, broke a few of his things for calling her a whore, and then walked off. Finally, she'd tell him how he chased her for a bit, but saw that she hurt herself falling and just left her there.

"C-Can... Can you come get me?"

It was silent and with every passing car, Natalie raised her head to see if it was him coming. It was hard to describe where she was, so she was hoping her horrible directions didn't get him lost. She didn't want to screw up his night more than she already had. Izumo often had to bail her out of sticky situations (or worse) and it made her feel like she was just a burden to him. Even with how irritating she must have been, he always came to her rescue. Not once had he ever said no. She couldn't even remember if there was ever a time he actually got angry with her either. He always just smiles and helped her without any hesitation. She'd promise herself that she wouldn't bring him into anything again, but then something like this happens and she has no choice. He was really the only person she could count on to be there no matter what bad happened to them.

"He should have dropped me a long ass time ago..." "Your chariot has arrived." she heard and was pulled from her thoughts. She looked up and saw that he was here. She blinked a couple times and then smiled sheepishly. She did her best to get up without looking like an idiot, but that ankle made that harder. He helped her onto his Moped and offered her a helmet. She puffed up her cheeks at it, but knew she had to take it so she put it on her head. "I'm gonna have helmet hair again..." she said as he got back on the Moped. As usual, before she put her arms around him to hold on, she poked at his sides to tickle him a bit and then clung tightly to him. It wasn't something she noticed, but Natalie has this playful nature when she's with Izumo. It isn't something that she can help and just feels comfortable enough around him that it doesn't matter. She was just more natural.

"I'll take you back to the bar so I can see about your ankle. It shouldn't be too badly hurt, but you'll still probably want some ice on that..." he said as he began driving off. She laid her head on his back and nodded. "I don't want to go home..." she told him. She sounded sad when she talked. This was because Jason had called her a whore. That's the one insult that has the ability to get to her. The only time she ever really seems bothered is when someone chooses to call her that and Izumo would know that quite well. "I will say, I don't think you would've liked that guy anyways. He seems to be the type that couldn't finish what he started... or maybe he'd finish too early and pass out. Just my assessment, of course." Natalie merely nodded. "He called me a whore." she said with a tear falling down her cheek, instinctively tightening her arms around his waist a bit, "I'm not a whore."

Another thing that Natalie being called a whore meant to her and Izumo... She was about to get drunk. The two of them made it to the bar with the same conversations that every friend has when they first start interacting. How are you? Fine. What have you been up to? Not much. Anything new? A few customers/Men are assholes. You know, that type of thing. Once Izumo stepped off the Moped, Natalie held her skirt down to prevent any peepshows from happening as she was presumably helped off. "Thank you." she said with a sweet, but saddened smile. With the help of Izumo, Natalie made it inside to a chair where her attention was caught by a red haired man smoking in the corner. She immediately knew who it was and sighed. "Oh great..." she mumbled when she saw him stand and move toward her out of the corner of her eyes. "What the hell did you do this time?" Logan spoke irritated at her.

Natalie turned her head away from him. "Izumo, what the hell did she get herself into this time?" Logan turned to the one in the room he actually liked for answers. "That's none of your business!" Natalie glared at Logan and reached up to pull on his ear. "Hey! Let go!" he said and pulled her hand away from him, "And it is my business if you keep getting him involved! Stop being such a bother!" Natalie froze for a moment and sighed, looking away from Logan and Izumo toward the front of the bar. "It won't happen again." she said with a pout, though she had said this many times before. "Yeah... right." Logan rolled his eyes and looked to Izumo with a dull expression that read 'why do you deal with this?!' Natalie looked back to Logan and narrowed her eyes. "You should go so Izumo and I can have a little fun." Natalie said with a mischeivous smile, implying the same thing she implied last time this happened. Sex. It is Natalie after all, so it wouldn't be shocking.

"Ha, yeah right. Izumo's smart being the one man that doesn't want to." Logan said and caused Natalie to freeze. First off, she once again entertained the thought of Izumo being homosexual or found her unattractive for some reason, which was not something she was used to. The other thought was what Logan had just implied. "So you're either implying that you're a woman or you want to touch me?" Natalie crossed her arms, watching Logan's face distort as he realized what he had just said. She covered her mouth and laughed into it. "Ha, gotcha again." Natalie said, having caught Logan in many word twists before. "Shut up! Izumo, I don't get how you deal with this woman! I'm out!" Logan pulled his jacket closed and stepped out of the front door, waving back to both of them. "Later Logan." Natalie said. The two of them obviously have a very strange relationship. You often couldn't tell whether they liked or hated each other. In fact, Logan didn't like Natalie seemingly using Izumo while Natalie was just playful toward him. She had no actual problems with Logan and was clueless of his dislike.

Either way, the moment he was gone, Natalie laid her head on the counter and sighed. "Why do you keep me around?" she asked curiously, staring at a wall, "I'm nothing but trouble for you, I don't work here, and we don't exactly hang out beyond your bar, so why are you so kind to me?" Natalie looked to him and blinked a couple times before sitting up. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to, so forget I asked. I'm just glad you do keep me around, otherwise I'd have no one." she smiled brightly and then tapped the counter, "Come on! Let's drink!"

Natalie chose to push the question off for one reason: she was scared of his answer. She was scared of making him lie to her. She was a pain in the ass and she knew it. Logan had made that quite clear some time ago. She didn't like being such a burden on him, which is why she promised that she wouldn't do it again every single time. Nothing ever changed. She still went on dates, went out to party, and had as much fun as she could. What was she going to do if she stopped all of that? Live the rest of her life alone and unhappy? That was the entire point of her dating. She wanted to find someone to love and love her right back. She was just looking in all the wrong places in all the wrong ways and that shouldn't bee too surprising. "You should know my life is my bar. And if someone is important in my bar, they're important to me. That should satisfy your craving for an answer."

Natalie just stared at him for a few moments before looking around the bar. A small smile formed on her lips when she thought of how attached he was to this place. She couldn't understand it, but as long as it was important to him, she could tell it would important to her as well. Even though she actually would have been okay without an answer, she was glad that he gave her one anyway. It was nice to know she was on a similar level of importance as his bar, though she still assumed she was lower. It was funny to feel that she'd protect this bar for him. It wouldn't be because she cared about it so much, but because she knew he did. It was the one thing she felt she could give back since he had done so much for her without asking anything in return. Besides trying to stop being such a burden, she didn't know what else. She had tried that one time. It was when Logan first made her realize how much of a bother she was to Izumo and it proved that Natalie got into more trouble when he wasn't around.

For an entire six months she refused to call on him for help, but that only got her into more and more trouble. When she finally gave in and called him, it was after being dragged around in the trunk of a car with men threatening to sell her off until she them back.  "Haha..." she giggled a bit when remembering that day, "Remember when we stopped talking for like... six months? Logan made me so mad, I said I was done... Finally got in enough trouble that you had to pull me from the trunk of that mob boss' car?" Natalie stared down at her drink and took in a deep breath. "To  you, for saving me for the thousandth time!" she said as she brought it to her lips and downed the entire thing. She set the glass gentle on the counter in front of her and inched it toward him. This is what she did when she wanted another. "No other bar, or should I say bartender, in existence can make a drink like you. Yours are always many times better than the next best..."

Everything seemed to be going great. Natalie was getting a bit of a buzz, the two of them were talking about anything and everything, and she was getting him to smile. She couldn't understand why she always liked it when he was smiling, but then that smile suddenly faded. Natalie tilted her head, not even noticing that he was looking at something. His tone completely changed; the fun was gone. Her heart sank a bit and her expression became very confused. He ordered her to call Logan and tell him something strange. "What?" she asked in confusion, but got a serious 'now' in reply. Feeling like something bad had happened, Natalie nodded and hopped off the stool, heading into Izumo's office.

Natalie went over to the phone and picked it up. As she was about to dial the number, she heard the lock click behind her and looked back to the door. Her heart began racing; he was acting very strange right now. "Izumo?" she called out his name quietly, unsure if she actually wanted an answer in the first place. She stood there, stuck, her finger hovering over the buttons on the phone as she listened. She could hear some talking, but couldn't make any of it out. And then suddenly everything got noisy. Natalie jumped, her body tensing in fear as she heard sounds she wasn't used to happening just outside the door. "Logan..." she remembered and began dialing his number, hoping for him to pick up.

"Izumo, I forgot m-..." "We're out of butter! We're out of butter!" Natalie interrupted him immediately. A loud bang echoed through the bar and through the phone as what sounded like a shot gun went off. Natalie heard nothing more from Logan and hung up the phone. She went over to the office door and tried to see if she could tell what was going on through the glass, but it was one of those windows that were frosted and practically impossibe to see through. She slowly unlocked the door and peeked her head out. She could barely see Izumo's back from where she was standing. At this moment, she saw someone with a large bat come from the back door. The man instantly charged at her.

"Stay still, you stupid bitch!" the man demanded. "Ahh!" She screamed and ducked back into the office as the bat came down, smashing the frosted glass. From the other side of the bar, the door was calmly opened and stepped through. "We got a problem?" a familiar voice stepped back into the picture. He stood there, his hands in his pockets, head slightly tilted, and his eyes narrowed in irritation at the fools who decided it was smart to mess with this bar, Izumo, and Izumo's... woman. "Look, you dumb-asses. You came here armed with bats a his fire? Idiots. Back the fuck off." Logan threatened, motioning Izumo toward Natalie, who was staring in horror at the man who had attacked her.

Logan knew that the moment Izumo heard Natalie scream, that he was going to need to move quickly. The moment Izumo turned his back to the idiots who threatened him, Logan made his move. One of them attempted to charge with a pipe in the air, but was met with a strong kick to his ribs. "Ugh!" the bastard groaned as he was pushed off his balance and into another one of his friends. With that manuever, Logan was able to put himself between him and the five that were remaining. "Are you sure you guys don't want to walk out of here?" Logan said, balancing on one foot as if he were ready to strike in a moment. They all looked to each other and charged like the fools they were.

"Fucking IDIOTS!" Logan brought his right leg around, striking the number three in the side of the head. He immediately spun, shifting his balance to his right foot, dodging an incoming pipe as his left leg came up, his foot striking under the jaw of another one of them. Logan glanced at the perfect time, seeing number one attempt to bring a wooden bat down onto his head. He was almost hit, but was able to shift his weight just enought to move out of the way. His hands still in his pockets, Logan spun himself once more, this time striking number one twice, two kicks in quick succession, sending the man flying back into number four. "You guys done yet?!" Logan asked.

And in the back hallway... Natalie was pretty shaken up. As the man came to hit her, Izumo knocked him out and she felt better for a moment, but when she heard the fighting going on in the other room, she got worried again. She looked to Izumo as he apologized, but she kept her worried look. He handed her a bat and she held it to herself quite tightly, her hands trembling as she gripped it. And then he pointed out some box in a drawer and did as he asked, handing it to him. She was surprised to find that it was a gun, but glad he had it. "O-Okay..." she replied nervously, gulping as he took the gun and turned away. She closed the door and just peeked her head over to watch.

By the time Izumo made it back, one and four were down and out, leaving three heavily injured, but still trying, and two and five practically cowering as the 'stronger' one's had been taken out. Logan reached out and caught the gun that Izumo tossed, stepping back a few feet to stand by his friends side, now also pointing the shot gun toward them. He had actually taken a pretty bad hit, now having a large cut down the ride side of his forehead, blood dripping down his face and over his right eye. "Now listen to the man and get out. You couldn't take me alone with your weapons, while I had none. How are you going to take us with our weapons." Logan spoke up after Izumo.