Julius brushed aside the strange history between the two, before approaching and slotting down on a red cushioned stool in front of the bar.
"The records didn't have anything." He jumped straight to business, speaking in a professional tone with a dull edge .
"Really?" The masked man spoke with raw surprise, never losing the loose playfulness ro his tone, as if the world could end tomorrow and it would be another thing to laugh at.
Then suddenly he stopped for a moment.
Now, he was standing awkwardly as if taken aback slightly.
Then suddenly he was lifting a finger to his chin with sudden thought.
"That's…weird." He murmured to himself, his voice suddenly catching a faint hint of responsibility before he threw his arms back.
"Oh well, we'll just have to look for the next-"
Though before he could finish, Julius coldly interjected.
"I think it's time we go for Mt wudan."
The whole room seemed to turn heavy.
S i l e n c e
Falson's raised hands, now slowly lowering, the electric tension in his shoulders easing
"Oh." Falson murmured once, any sense of play lost in his voice.
A moment passed.
"Pfft- You think you're big enough for that place yet? That's all the way in china, the high sword sect will have your head if they find such a nosy person poking around." Falson burst out laughing hysterically, suddenly finding great humor.
He paused as his laughter died down a notch, still faint in his voice as he continued its a giggle "Damn Jules, when I left that message in the lake, I really didn't think you'd take it seriously. We should think about the next-"
SLAM!
The noise attracted the gazes of the customers, dispelling all the noise in the bar like the sound themselves had been robbed.
The polished wood had fractured under Julius's fists…
His shoulders tensed with barely contained rage, his body as still as a rock, whilst his fists found grooves from the cracks he made in the wood.
Julius aimed his heavy gaze underneath Falson, his face unchanging as he spoke in a murky tone with a dangerous calm.
"All you've ever told me since I was a kid was that everything I saw doesn't have to happen. That we could change it. All you've ever said time and time again was Mt wudan is our best shot. You said you'd make me ready, but now every time I bring it up you put it off."
The silence was like smoke filling a room, making even Falson freeze, the mask hiding everything out of sight from Julius.
Then Falson dropped his head forward, black messy hair spilling forward.
"You're right."
The words pressed into both of them as he clenched his fists and reminded himself.
The emptiness to his tone was like an anvil compared to his usual lilt.
Julius watched as he sat a fraction stiller than normal, although it was hard to notice.
His eyes, so sure and so sharp, wobbled for just a moment.
He wasn't quite sure what he'd seen, but he knew that it was strange even for a person like Falson with a few screws loose.
"So…Mt wudan, hehe how do you plan on getting there?" Falson asked casually as if nothing had happened, tilting his head back up, raising his arms behind the back of his head with a tired sigh.
Julius's eyes narrowed with vigilance, silently watching before finally responding.
"…My gate." Julius said eventually, his words spilling out after his eyes loosened a fraction.
"The gate? You actually got that working?" Falson gasped with pure surprise.
"Well at least you don't have to worry about the high sword sect then." Falson concluded with a causal shrug and a chuckle.
Then he breathed a sudden sigh, dropping him hands to his hips as he looked distantly past Julius.
"You really impress me Jules, every day…" He said in a complicated tone, his tone loose enough to show awe but also this sudden sense of pride and interest.
Julius rolled his eyes.
Of course he impressed him, showing him time and time again the limits of human spirit and his own amazing ingenuity.
If he didn't, how long ago would he have died under the watch of this sick clown?
"Don't look at me like that!" Falson said in a sudden bratty attitude.
Then after ignoring it, he moved on, waving a hand dismissively.
"You want Mt wudan? You can have it. Y'know I can't come with you though." Falson concluded playfully in a loose torn, for reasons he wouldn't elaborate on.
Julius sighed with a straight face of indifference, adjusting back into Falson's insufferable personality.
"Right." He said as if chewing plain air.
Then suddenly moving on he said "Also I need all the files on the third years."
"Huh?" Falson exclaimed, "What the hell do you need that for? Do you know how hard I had to bust my ass to get you those first files?" He murmured with a moment of his neck that looked like he rolled his eyes, though of course with that mask it was always hard to tell.
"Bust your ass?" Julius sighed.
"As if, for this guy it was, it was probably a walk in the park." Julius internally assumed, frustrated at this guy's insufferable flair for drama.
"He's stolen way worse, way more recently, and yet he's babying about some files?"
"He really is insane…" Julius thought to himself, then sighing out loud.
He had been with him since he was six years old, of course Julius already knew how crazy this guy was.
That didn't make it any easier for Julius to swallow.
Julius hated partnerships, he only worked with Falson because there was no other way.
Falson was like the hand of god, whilst Julius thought of himself as an ant.
"Only idiot wouldn't make use of this fool." Julius thought to himself.
Actually, it was entirely because of Falson that Julius hated relying on the strong.
That doesn't mean he wouldn't make use of them, like how he made use of Thurid as a personal bodyguard when he visit the Akashic records, he just secretly wished he could have his own power to rely on.
Maybe it was born out of spite, wanting to show Falson he could go about things without his help, and that would make sense.
When Julius thought about his past, he often felt his heart burn like a star, so he chose to avoid it.
Though moments like these made memories surface naturally.
How many times had Falson watched Julius without lifting a finger?
And every time Julius brought it up, he'd always be met with the same obnoxious nonsensical answers.
"Haha, well you seem fine to me so clearly you didn't need my help."
"Hahaha, maybe I just wanted to see if you could hahaha!"
The memories resurfaced in the form of that annoyingly joyful laugh.
Julius brushed the thoughts away, refocusing on Falson's question.
"Someone's trying to kill me, I think it's one of the third years." Julius honestly replied, giving a good enough reason to squeeze Falson for all he's worth without having to give too many details.
"Jeez, when isn't someone trying to kil you?" He sighed as he placed a palm over the face of his mask.
His hands were a little pale, somewhat fair, relaxed as they pressed against the mask.
His skin had a slight stretch from age, he acted like a child yet he was in his early thirties at least.
"Fine, fine." Falson agreed in a hurried whine, then groaning with unbearable angst.
"Oo, that reminds me. Where's my vault at?" He asked with a maniacal giggle.
Julius almost grimaced at the word 'my'.
" but then again I suppose that's fair to say." Julius concluded.
"…I had to hand it over." Julius responded reluctantly with a sigh.
"Whaaaaat?" Falson exclaimed as he leaned his upper body back with surprise.
"Grr! You lost my vault!" Falson accused with visible, although childish, levels of anger that could be seen even with that mask.
"I had no choice, a nurse demanded it in the infirmary." Julius sighed.
"I honestly wasn't expecting to hold onto it for as long as I did, I knew I would eventually hand it over to the Keeper, but it never showed…Did something happen to it in the Akashic records?" Julius wondered, present in the conversation even as the side-thought sprouted simultaneously in his mind.
"Why did a nurse know you have the damn vault of akashic records!" Falson demanded to know in that same chaotic energy.
"I had to use it for a fight." Julius answered coldly, turning his head aside now, rudely reusing to meet Falson's gaze.
"Ughhh…" Falson groaned painfully as he threw his head back as if physically experiencing a shock in his body.
"You used my poor baby for a stupid school fight!" He screeched again, continuing to babble hypocritically about how Julius can't be trusted with responsibilities.
"Thurid would get along well with this guy…" The thought involuntarily sprouted in his mind as Julius's eyes watched Falson from the corner of his narrowed eyes.
Then after catching the thought, he closed his eyes and huffed through his nose sharply, frustrated at a waste of a thought.
After another minute of chaotic babbling, causing strange looks from the customers across the room, Falson finally settled as if nothing had happened.
"So anyways, how's your old man?" Falson casually asked, throwing the back of his head behind him to rest them into his raised arms.
He wouldn't ask about Julius's mother, there was obviously no point in that, even someone as crazy Falson knew better than to bring that up.
"He visited me this morning." Julius said blandly, finally getting up out of the seat, ready to leave.
"Ay! Where do you think you're going? We haven't even had a drink yet hehehe." Falson insisted with a giggle that sounded like he was grinning behind his mask.
Julius ignored him, silently turning behind him to leave the bar.
"Argh, party pooper." Falson sighed.
"G'night!" He said once more before the door closed behind Julius.
End of chapter 36