Welcome! My goal with this story is to explore, as the title suggests, the many faces of Shibusen, and I have plans to write one-shots on at least 26 characters. Yes, that translates into 26 chapters worth of one-shots. Additionally, each one-shot should more or less fit the quote at the beginning of each chapter. I personally chose each quote to fit the personality of each character.
I chose to begin with the toughest character first: Harvar D. Eclair, Mr. Stoic-and-Antisocial. I found this character incredibly hard to write (even after rereading half the manga searching for behavioral clues), so I don't think the first chapter came out so well. Also, I didn't intend for this to be a HarvarxJacqueline pairing, but I think these two stubborn weapons could become thick friends. At least, if Jacqueline ever forgives Harvar for electrocuting her in the Baba Yaga arc...
Well, I hope this one makes you chuckle if nothing else. =)
"I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions…."
~ Lillian Hellman, Letter to House Un-American Activities Committee, May 19, 1952
Harvar leaned back against the wooden back of the booth seat. Really, the diner should invest in new furniture and not waste its money on advertising. He'd be far more willing to eat here if he just had a cushion or two.
Then again, the chili fries that the team (consisting of Ox, Kim, Jacqueline, Kilik, the twins, and himself) was currently sharing looked as if someone had soaked the poor potatoes in grease and thrown ground-up cat liver on top. Not the most appetizing dish he had ever seen.
Jacqueline's voice startled him out of his unpleasant thoughts. She put her hands to her mouth in a theatrical imitation of a megaphone. "Earth to Harvar! Anyone home in there?" Harvar grunted, and his fellow weapon grinned at him. "What, chili fries not your thing? You've hardly eaten anything."
"Leave 'im alone, Jackie," Kilik advised as he used a napkin to wipe the grease off Fire's face. "Just wait 'til the kalimari comes. You'd be surprised how many of those things this boy can shovel in."
"You mean, kalimari as in squid? Ew." Jacqueline stuck her tongue out as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, which in turn rested on the top of her Diet Coke.
Beside the disgusted weapon, Kim wagged a finger in the cutesiest manner she could, "Harvar, you should try the sushi bar they just opened across town. I heard it's pretty good, and the prices aren't too bad either." Harvar knew better than to ask why Kim would know the prices at a restaurant she had never been to. If Kim ever went on The Price is Right, he doubted the money-minded meister would even have to guess the prices. She'd probably know not only the price of every prize, but all the patent information to boot.
Ox, who had been stuffing his face with chili fries, suddenly perked up. "Well, why don't we all try it out this Friday?" he suggested, and Harvar could practically see how Ox's mind was working: him + Kim + restaurant = date?
"Sorry, Jackie and I have a mission." Kim smiled as Ox's face drained of all expression, the usual reaction to a rejected, erm, date?
"Hey, I have a serious question," Jacqueline suddenly asked. "We all know that Ox is just plain weird about his hair." Ox regained composure so that he could turn a wrathful gaze at Jacqueline, but she ignored him as usual. "But you're so sane, Harvar, that I just can't figure out why you'd wear that dumb visor in public."
Harvar shrugged. This wasn't the first time Jacqueline had dissed the visor. It wasn't his fault she couldn't see how amazingly awesome it was.
"Jackie, this is a symbol of our manhood!" Ox proclaimed, wrapping an arm around his irritated weapon. "Harvar's visor— and my hair— are more than mere fashion statements! They stand for our individuality! By setting ourselves apart, we announce to the world that we are not afraid to stand up for ourselves… or anything we love!" At the end, Ox snuck a glance at Kim to see if she caught his "clever" innuendo, only to be crushed when the girl showed no interest in the speech.
In all actuality, Harvar agreed with his meister. In fact, it had been this attitude that had brought the pair together, several years earlier during Shibusen's Partnership Ceremony. Ox had not been afraid to stand up for himself, no matter how the other meisters teased him for his hair, and had walked up to Harvar with a confidence that Harvar had not seen all day and had rarely seen since.
Nevertheless, Harvar wore his visor for a far different reason. Ox accepted the teasing and occasionally bullying as a sort of "side effect," something that happened but that Ox did not openly invite. Harvar, on the other hand, wore his visor knowing full well that others would question not only his fashion sense (was a guy allowed to have a fashion sense? Eh, he didn't care) but also his instinct for self-preservation. Harvar practically asked to be bullied.
At least, then a little attention would be pulled away from Ox. After all, Harvar's first priority was to keep his meister happy and safe.
… and, when Harvar became a Death Scythe, he'd definitely bring the visor "back."
Harvar didn't realize that he had spaced out until the waitress brought out the main courses. Jacqueline was sidetracked from his eyewear and focused instead on the plate in front of him. She wrinkled her nose. "They look like onion rings," she said.
"Haven't you ever tried kalimari, Jacqueline?" Kilik asked.
"Of course not," she retorted, obviously repelled by the idea. She grabbed her knife and fork and looked down at her own meal, which consisted of a more standard chicken pie.
Harvar came up with a fun idea right then, and he couldn't resist putting it into action. Before Jacqueline could take a bite of her own food, Harvar shoved one of his "onion rings" into her open mouth. Jacqueline jerked backward in surprise.
This made the entire evening— uncomfortable seating, gross food, and annoying conversations all—completely worth it. Harvar could barely hide his satisfaction as Jacqueline slowly turned several shades of red as she tried to swallow the chewy ring of squid. Harvar knew by experience that a kalimari ring was almost impossible to swallow quickly, so Jacqueline was forced to truly try it.
For a full minute, no one in the booth so much as made a sound except for Fire and Thunder, both of whom began to giggle at the sight of Jacqueline's face.
Finally, the dark-haired weapon managed to swallow the kalimari, and she glared up at Harvar. "You jerk!"
"So? What'd you think?" he asked.
Jacqueline looked back at her plate before reluctantly admitting, "It was alright."
"See? It's not so bad to open your mind once in a while," Harvar teased, smirking as he ate one of the kalimari himself.
"Psh. Whatever," the embarrassed weapon said, turning away.
Kim suddenly gasped, glaring toward the diner's counter. "Did you guys see that? That guy totally just smirked at me!"
"What?!" Ox demanded, standing up and almost knocking over the table in his outrage.
"Whoa, calm down there," Kilik said, hurrying to save the drinks.
Just like that, Kim had drawn all attention away from her weapon, and Harvar's moment of enjoyment was over.
Well, at least Jacqueline left him alone for the rest of the night.