[Episode] Breaking Family Bonds

Ebony amused herself with the poor man that was trapped under her boot. She didn’t care about the potential stash of information he could have had. Nor did it matter the man’s position. He was a nobody but the defiant look in his eyes was what thrilled her the most. She only wished to squash it and watch him break.

Unfortunately, Adonis soon decided to cut into her fun. "Okay, there is probably bigger fish to extract information from inside. This guy is a runt with no purpose. I say we let him be..." Ebony clicked her tongue. It seemed as if they held differing views of what was going on. However, she decided not to correct him.

However, Adonis quickly redeemed himself. He took it upon himself to draw life away from the man in a manner she had never seen before. She watched in morbid curiosity as the man’s face twisted and contoured in a way she had never thought humanly possible. She looked up at him in awe as he concluded his statement. "...a puddle. " Needless to say, she was impressed.

Ebony allowed the doctor to proceed first. Keeping a bit of distance, she gave him a look of appraisal as she allowed herself to dwell in her thoughts. She had, without a doubt, hit the jackpot with this man. Not only was he an exceptional doctor but he seemed to be well-versed in other certain capacities. Ones that she could definitely find uses for in the future.

Much like a gentleman would, Adonis held open the door for her. She obliged and stepped inside without much care. From the two bodies she had seen flying, Ebony already knew that Julian was holding out very well on his own. However, that didn’t mean she could leave him to take care of it all by himself.

The first thing Ebony noticed was that the business owner had been surrounded by the scoundrels who had trespassed into their territory.They were too busy focusing on Julian but, as she had come to note, he had been taking great strides in taking care of himself. She figured that there was not much to do but a job was a job.

Julian lifted his gaze and immediately broke out into a goofy grin at the sight of her. He waved his metal ladle in their air in the form of a wave. “EEEEY!” He yelled out. The thugs turned to gaze at the incoming duo in confusion. “Are you here for your usual? I’ll get it started once I clean up this mess!!”

432 | 6352 | 5000

She grinned at the man as she nodded towards him in acknowledgement. If there was any place Ebony knew where she could relax, she could swear Julian’s was it. He had proven to be quite trustworthy and, much like her, he absolutely disliked her family. The only exception to this was, of course, her and her grandfather.

She looked towards Adonis as he spoke. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" He asked quite respectfully. Ebony’s grin widened. It was strange to hear Adonis use that sort of tone with anyone. He was usually so open and brazen that it caught her by some level of surprise. Not that she blamed him as Julian had quite the presence.

The chef swung his ladle against one of the thug’s face as he shook his head rather apologetically. “No thank you, dear.” Julian said as the man flew to the side from the impact. “You both are customers here regardless of what that silly old man says.” The rest of his comrades immediately turned their attention back to Julian.

Ebony decided to take a seat. If Julian preferred for them to not butt in, then there was nothing she could do. However, one of the remaining thugs turned towards them and smirked. Ebony gave him a look of disgust. It was the one thing she hated from the Princeps above all else. They believed themselves to be superior.

The thug’s next words, however, piqued her interest. "We are here to deliver a message from Raphael Princep. The Syndicate has great need of your services, Julian." Ebony snickered. Did he think they were ignorant of how the Orochi Syndicate worked? Sure, Raphael was one of the Ruby Spider’s heads but he did not speak for the Syndicate.

Furthermore, as far as she knew, Francesco was the one who took charge of the South Blue. She had even had the pleasure of working with him upon occasion. A delightful man compared to Raphael from the North. It was unfortunate, however, that she hadn’t spoken to Francesco since their last gathering.

Ebony turned her attention towards the man. She’d play the part as ignorant considering that the man had severely underestimated them all. Either that or he had no idea who she was. “What does he want? You expect us to believe that he’d send you when he can contact any one of us directly?”