The ringing phone snapped Markus awake. He looked at the old clock. Four hours. Looking at his phone with bleary eyes, he saw that it was Lucifer.

“Hello?”

“Markus! I’m so glad I caught you before you went outside. What would you say to dinner tonight?”

“I… I guess? Where were you planning on going?” Markus yawned.

“Morrigan and I will meet you at Yoshikawa Tempura. It’s also an inn, just so you’re aware. Be there at eight, please. We have much to discuss. I know you would like to, but please don’t bring Miss Ikeda with you. I’d like for there to not be another incident. Incidentally, she will be getting off work early tomorrow, and I would suggest picking her up, were I you.”

“I… wait, what?”

“Fantastic! I’ll see you at seven!”

The telltale clicks of the line going dead met Markus’ ears. Still in a slight daze, Markus shook his head and got into the shower. While he knew it wasn’t strictly necessary, he knew he’d feel better and be more awake after a shower. Two hours was plenty of time to be completely dry before dinner.

*************

Once he emerged clean and refreshed, he checked his phone again. There was a message from Akane.

I’m sorry, but one of my coworkers fell ill, and I have to pick up her closing duties. Plus, I have to open tomorrow. I’m not going to be able to talk much tonight.

(╯︵╰,)

Well. while that would work in his favor, he still didn’t like it.

I understand. I once worked in a restaurant, myself. Don’t stress over it. I am simply glad you told me so I wouldn’t worry for you.

(っ˘з(˘⌣˘ ) ♡

He set his phone down and made sure he was dry before putting clothes on. Akane had sent him a picture of her smiling, so he figured all was well there. He got dressed, and once his beard was dry, he put it in a single braid, with the oni skull and signet bead, and consulted his GPS map for the best route to his destination. It looked like it would take a half hour to get there, so Markus decided to read some manga while he waited for the right time to leave.

At a quarter after six, he got moving, and roughly a half-hour later, he was standing in front of the restaurant, his belly grumbling. As there was nowhere for him to sit outside, he leaned against the building on the mostly empty street and opened his phone again to read some more.

“Who’s this gaijin? I really hope he doesn’t think he just hang around our turf,” a voice said from his left. It was deep and had a slightly raspy quality to it.

Markus looked up, making eye contact with a smaller man who was giving him some serious stink-eye. He was lean and reminded Markus of a greyhound.

“Can I help you?” Markus asked the man.

The man looked around, amusement written across his face. “Do you see anyone else here, gaijin? Your money. Give it here. Now.” A quick flick of his wrist brought a collapsible baton to bear.

Markus smiled and put his phone away. As he had been leaning against the wall, he was nearly eye-level with the man. As he stood straight, the height difference quickly became apparent. The smaller man didn’t flinch or look surprised.

Markus leaned down next to the man’s face, and in a low, soft whisper, he said, “I don’t think so. I am not one to be frightened by a man with a bat, nor will I ever be. I would suggest you move on somewhere and try your luck on a mark that is a little smaller than me. Please leave.”

He straightened and curled his hands into fists, his knuckles popping. Unflinching, he stared his would-be attacker in the eyes, his face a neutral mask.

The world moved in slow-motion as the smaller man whipped his left hand in an arc towards Markus’ arm. Realizing his predicament, Markus stepped forward and raised both of his arms. The baton impacted his side with a hollow thud, and Markus wrapped his arms around his attacker and squeezed, putting slow, implacable pressure on his attacker’s ribs.

Undaunted, the smaller man continued to try to poke and prod Markus across his back, occasionally connecting with the back of Markus’ head. Markus simply maintained his bear hug, slowly squeezing tighter and tighter.

The man soon realized that his strikes were having little to no effect on the large man, and began to kick him in the legs.

“Oh, that’s a bad idea, kid. Let me show you why!” Markus yelled, and crouched slightly. With a sudden jerk, the man was distracted long enough for Markus to dip lower, and then he leapt into the air, his powerful legs propelling them both nearly five feet. Twisting in the air, Markus made them move horizontal, and let gravity do its job.

Markus let the full force of his nearly two-hundred and sixty pounds land atop his attacker. At the last moment, he let go, and landed spread-eagled atop the man. He felt some distinct pops as he landed, but his adrenaline wasn’t letting him feel any pain for the moment.

He lay there a short moment, dazed. When he looked down, he saw his attacker struggling to breathe, weakly trying to get Markus’ bulk off him.

Markus obliged, swiftly pivoting to the side. When he saw the man take a much-needed gasp of air, he nodded to himself.

Taking the man by his collar, he pulled him up. A terrified expression met his mask of calm. “Now. Will you ever try this again?” he asked softly. The man shook his head fiercely. Markus smiled broadly. “Good. I want you to sit a moment, and go over yourself. Is anything broken? I’m a big man, and I’m surprised you aren’t dead, in all honesty.”

The man moved gingerly, testing his ribs and chest. “My arms are scraped up, and I’ve got a knot on my head. Why are you asking?”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

In response, Markus stood, his knees clicking loudly. He extended a hand to the man, who took it and stood slowly. “Because I’m not a bad man. Just one who refuses to be a victim again. Now go. Don’t let me catch you again, or I’ll be sure to put you in the hospital. Am I clear?” he stated.

The man shook his head, gathered his baton and limped away.

“Now that was impressive, my boy! Wasn’t that interesting, Morrigan?”

Markus sighed. Of course his manager and Morrigan just happened to show up right then.

“Yes, Lucifer. That was very exciting. Why did you let him go, Markus?” Morrigan asked, laying a hand on Markus’ cheek. He shivered in spite of himself.

Markus put on a soft smile. “Because, Lady Morrigan. I don’t want to hurt anyone any more than is necessary to get the point across. I did what I needed, and he has hopefully learned to not fuck with me again. Should he or the rest of his gang try, I’ll escalate the level of force needed to rid myself of the threat. Including simply running, should the odds be stacked too much against me,” he said.

“Well, be that as it may, you may not have much choice,” she said, motioning with a nod to a group of young men down the street, who were heading towards them.

“I’ll deal with this, Markus. No sense in-”

“No, sir. Thank you, though. This is squarely my issue. I’d like to deal with it, please,” Markus said, turning to face the group, his arms hanging loosely at his sides.

“As you wish, my boy. But remember: You are not immortal.”

Markus nodded, and raised a hand to the group, who stopped a few feet away.

“My buddy here says you nearly crushed him. That true?” the man in front said, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“It is. Did he tell you why?”

“Don’t matter, gaijin. You should have given him the money. Now we have to beat it out of you,” he said, and rushed Markus.

Markus dropped to a knee and thrust a palm out, landing squarely in the center of the man’s solar plexus, sending him stumbling backward, struggling to breathe. Markus quickly took up a ready stance and looked to the other three.

“Don’t.”

The one he had nearly crushed started to back away, but the other two looked at each other, down at their friend and, as one, ran at Markus.

Lucifer and Morrigan stood back a bit, and allowed the fracas to continue. Markus seemed to be able to hold his own, landing a powerful front kick to one, his foot impacting the midsection of the man on his right.

Morrigan leaned close to Lucifer and murmured, “I wonder how long he can keep this up. I really wish he’d let you help.”

“No, my dear. He wanted to handle his own problem, so I’m letting him handle it. Rest assured, if someone comes close to dying, I will intervene. I’m not losing this one,” Lucifer replied.

Markus squared off against the last man, keeping his liver and stomach guarded. Warily the man attempted to circle Markus, trying to get him to put his back to the other three.

“You should leave while you can still walk. Pick up your friends and go,” Markus warned.

“You’d never let me leave. I have to end this here,” the man said.

“You dumbass! He just let me go, and I tried to rob him first. Let’s just go. I told you not to do this!” the first attacker said.

“He’s right. I’ll simply let you leave. All I ask in return is none of you ever attempt this with me again. Listen to your friend,” Markus pleaded.

The man rushed Markus a second time, and Markus resolved himself to ending this. He stepped in and punched the man in the shoulder, aiming for a spot several inches behind the man. He heard a loud crunch. And a sharp pop. As a result, the man spun, his balance thrown off, and he fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder, crying out in pain.

Markus stood over the man, shaking his hand fiercely. He was pretty sure he had at least broken a knuckle. Nonetheless, he reached down and pulled the man to his feet, his grip sure and firm.

“I warned you. Hold still. Let me put that back into place,” Markus said, gripping the man’s wrist and shoulder. With a sharp tug and another sickening pop, he felt the injured joint slip back into place as the man cried out in pain.

“Now go. Get yourselves to a hospital. Leave me in peace,” he said, then turned to face Lucifer. The four men scurried off, hopefully to a hospital.

“Are you ready to eat?” he asked, clutching his right hand gingerly.

Morrigan laid a hand on Markus’ shoulder. “I’m ready to devour something,” she said smokily.

Markus sighed and looked past her to Lucifer, who simply shrugged. “I’m hungry, Morrigan, and I don’t have the energy to banter right now. Could we please go eat?” he said.

Morrigan smirked and patted his cheek, then turned and walked into the restaurant. Markus shared a long-suffering look with Lucifer and the pair followed the woman.

Once inside, Markus examined his hand. He could feel it healing, but decided to make sure things were aligned properly. Gently tugging on each of his fingers, he eventually found the break in his pinky finger, and forcibly aligned the two halves of bone, holding them in place while they slowly knit together. Sweat broke out across his brow, and he began to take slow, deep, deliberate breaths to maintain his composure.

Glancing over, Lucifer saw the pain Markus was in, and leaned over. “Are you certain you’re alright, Markus? I cannot speed that along, but I can make sure things are lined up right,” he murmured.

Markus held his right hand out, watching it shake uncontrollably from the pain. Gently, Lucifer took his hand and examined it, carefully poking here and there, eliciting winces from Markus. He gripped his ring and pinky fingers and looked into Markus’ eyes, raising an eyebrow. Markus took a breath and nodded decisively. Lucifer gave a sharp yank, neatly aligning the third metacarpal, pulling a grunt from Markus.

Shuddering, Markus nodded his thanks to his manager, who simply smiled and turned to face the hostess.

“My apologies. My associate can be a little clumsy at times. He tripped outside and dislocated a finger. Reservation for Lucifer?” he asked.

The wide-eyed hostess nodded and led the trio to a low, rectangular table, where they sat, with Morrigan in the middle, and the men on either end.

“Oh, this brings back memories,” she said fondly.

“Really? What memories might those be, my Lady?” Lucifer asked.

“The last time I witnessed a brawl and was later sandwiched between two strong, handsome men. It must have been seventy years ago, now,” she said wistfully, biting her lower lip.

“I’m sorry I asked,” Lucifer said drily.