Kenshin glanced around the tavern as he and Alphard walked in. He immediately spotted Suto standing up at a table with two strangers and an apparently drunk Yari. “Uh… Hey guys,” Suto called, waving the pair of fighters. Kenshin nodded and waved back before nudging Alphard and heading in the direction of their friends’ table. As they got closer, Kenshin could tell that something was wrong here. Suto wore an expression that appeared to be a strange mix of pained, disgusted, angry, and unimaginably tired. Yari, for her part, was even more intoxicated than previously thought. She was swaying slightly in her seat and leaning heavily on the table. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused, her head was canted at a slight angle, and she gripped an empty mug tightly. Kenshin could only assume that she had grabbed a drink here to help cope with the loss of her memory. Suto had probably shown up after that and tried to be all friendly towards her, forgetting that he’s a stranger to her now. This most likely just drove her to distraction and back into the demon drink. 

Kenshin shared a glance with Alphard, silently coming to the agreement that the pair personally needed to rescue Yari from this situation. So, as the two reached the table, Alphard moved over behind Yari’s chair and carefully helped her to her feet, saying “This girl clearly needs to get home and sleep off the alcohol in her system.” She levelled a glare at Titus and Doku, “I’m the only other girl here, so it’s least likely that I’m here to try to get into her pants once she gets home. Kenshin, why don’t you keep these guys company while I get Yari into bed? Suto, you and I will talk later about all this.” Then, over Yari’s drunken protests, Alphard gently steered her out the door.

Which left Kenshin standing next to the table with three men who were most likely all upset with him for some reason or another. Kenshin calmly walked around the table to where he could keep his back to a wall and his eyes to the door, snagging a chair on his way. The lanky swordsman sat down, steadying his sword’s sheath with his left hand so it wouldn’t bang against his leg as he sat. When he sat, however, he didn’t remove his hind from the blade; instead using his thumb to clear a couple of inches of bone from his scabbard out of sight from his fellows. He studied each of them in turn: Doku, dark haired and wiry, he leaned forward with an almost predatory intensity; Titus, clearly an American, was attempting to hide his emotions but Kenshin thought he could detect a brief flash of anger; and Suto, a friend, who seemed simultaneously relieved and upset with Alphard and Kenshin for taking Yari away. Doku was clearly the biggest threat here, but something told Kenshin to watch out for Titus. Without taking his eyes off the two, Kenshin set a small pile of small-denomination coins on the table (part of his winnings from the 2-v-2) waved over a server. “How about a drink for each of my friends here, ma’am? This should cover a couple of rounds,” he said, gesturing to the coins.

He was saved from further awkwardness by the arrival of a shorter brunette girl, who slammed her hands down on the oaken table and testily said, “So… was anyone going to tell me we were going out to a party?” Kenshin hid a grin behind his foaming mug and thought [i]Now these tense bastards are your problem, girl![/i]