June 2.2, 2080
[X] [Mitsu] Bring your partner along.
[X] [Neighborhood] Kokubu. The gathering grounds for conventions must be a place where media spokespersons frequent. They could even be from out of town, giving you potentially direct access to what you want.
[X] [Neighborhood] Kokubu. The gathering grounds for conventions must be a place where media spokespersons frequent. They could even be from out of town, giving you potentially direct access to what you want.
Even though she wasn't riding her motorcycle this time, Mitsu still wore a bike jacket regardless. It clung to her tightly, aided by the various straps of her sword sheath and the Lycoris schoolbag. The thought of the later made you slightly conscious about your own bag and you thanked that it could easily double into a carry bag to look less awkward for a grown woman to carry about.
You didn't even consider the idea of going out without it, not when it was the perfect concealed holster for your pistol. Perhaps in a gentler world, bringing a gun on causal outings would have been considered overkill, but this was the 2080s. Not having a piece on you in case things went down was asking to be flatlined on the streets of Kagoshima.
Those dark thoughts were gently shaken from you when Mitsu nudged and you realized the transit had reached your destination. You two exited the carriage and walked out of the train station together, stepping out into a neighborhood neither of you had ever spent time in before. This was incredibly evident when Mitsu gasped and tugged at your arm, pointing eagerly at an advertisement billboard. "Kami above, they're hosting a blade convention in a few week's time! I surely must mark the fated day down so that I may be in attendance!"
"You do have opticware," You causally reminded with a tug at your lips. Your partner brightened up at the reminder and stared intently at the announcement, likely taking a picture and putting it on her electronic calendar. In the meantime, you looked a bit further and surveyed Kokubu as a whole.
As indicated by the announcement, this area was a major tourist hub for Kagoshima. There were plenty of hotels with varying luxury levels scattered through the streets, with the largest of them clearly boasting convention areas for organizations to host events in. These were currently empty or closed this time of the night, with no ongoing singular event catching your eye for the moment. Perhaps in the future, there could be something out of town coming here that would be of interest for a Fixer.
But that was in the future. For now, your eyes sought out other possibilities, thinking of the hotel customers who could be here in the off-season. They'd likely be people more interested in touring Kagoshima as a whole, at all times of the day perhaps. So it should come as no surprise that there was a definite night life around here, just waiting for you to pick one to try your luck at.
(Generating Nightclub…)
Your eyes finally settled on a neon sign pointing to a set of stairs leading into the basement of a building. That looked promising as anything. "Over here," You gestured and Mitsu turned to examine your find with a raised eyebrow.
"Wako's Tap? Hm." A frown emerged and she made a face at that name. "Aren't they nomad pirates? Is the establishment perhaps operated by such...distasteful individuals?"
You pressed your lips together, then shook your head firmly to push on. "Maybe, but my gut's telling me that this one is worth having a look. Let's just grab a drink or two there, then move on if it's not to your taste."
After a moment, Mitsu gave in and accepted your suggestion. "I suppose a drink wouldn't be amiss. In fact, my throat is admittedly parched. Though I lack faith in the tap."
"We'll see." You led the way down the small flight of the stairs, drawing short when you realized there was actually a bouncer standing right before the door. Said guard eyed you up and grunted stiffly, not quite barring the way but also not convinced that you weren't a tourist who wandered into the wrong establishment. That made your eyes narrow in suspicion- just what was this doing here then in a neighborhood meant to cater to visitors of the city?
Then Mitsu ambled her way down and spotted the bouncer, her eyes mirroring yours. "Is there an obstacle?" She calmly asked, shifting ever so slightly to show off the hilt of her katana poking over her shoulder while also making it easier to reach. The bouncer noticed the gesture, then stepped aside to let the two Lycoris enter the bar proper. Mitsu still gave them a stink eye on the way in, then she coughed when she was caught off-guard by the smoky interior. "Ack! A poisoned atmosphere-?"
"A layered one," You corrected softly, adapting quicker to the pungent smell of tobacco and other sort of narcotics wafting about. It was easy to see the source of these, with at least half the bar's patrons holding burning cigarettes in one hand while their chromed hands grabbed at spirits. Your entry had caused many of their eyes to flick in your direction, glowing orbs piercing through the gray smoke in appraisal.
One that many found lacking given you and your partner ljust ooked like two young women in out of their heads. The average patron meanwhile had a considerable amount of either chrome, leather, or chains on them that definitely screamed 'gun for hire.' That was when you realized just what this was, the pieces coming together when you observed the lack of uniform features among them.
This was a mercenary bar, one for those from out of the city.
And now many were watching you with hawkish glares when you stepped to the counter top. You sauntered up to the bartender and plainly ordered a drink, which they provided after a moment's thought. A strange clear liquid was poured out into cups and pushed at you, an unknown spirit that was perhaps a test or trial for those watching.
(Merc Face: 92 +12 (Cool) +15 (Mitsu) +2 (Rank 1 Streetwise) = 121)
Your hand paused when reaching for one of the drinks, something feeling off. Quickly, your mind reminded you that if this was a test, then no way just being able to down a strong spirit was enough of a trial, especially for mercenaries coming from out of town. Your eyes darted about and noticed that none of the other patrons had drinks that looked anything like what was being offered.
Mitsu coming up besides you stared at her serving, then spoke for both of you with a hard glare at the bartender. "Tis clearly poison," She flatly told and roughly pushed the drink away with a sneer. "How crude. I say we seek better venues elsewhere now."
"Oh, that depends." You pushed your drink away too and casually placed a hand on the counter, then gripped tightly. The artificial limb dug into the weathered wood with a loud crack and you leaned at the bartender with a sharp grin. "I think you owe us a drink or two now for that attempt now, don't you think?"
They paled and opened their mouth to say something, only to be suddenly cut off with a rough laugh from a seated bar patron watching the exchange. "Ah, don't be too harsh. It's a right of passage, to see if you're smart enough to realize, or nuts enough to go through anyway." They shifted about to reveal a grinning older woman, her body decorated in scars where it wasn't covered in chrome. She even had a bulky looking targeting cyberware installed over one of her eyes in a manner not unlike an eyepatch. "That callout though? Pretty preem. I'll buy you a drink if nothing else."
"My thanks," You smoothly told and took a seat. Then you realized that it was only you and turned to see Mitsu leaning casually against the bar, pointedly keeping on her feet while she surveyed the rest of the bar warily. Even when the presumably safe drinks were served, she pointedly did not take it still, on her guard the entire while.
The scarred woman laughed at the sight and smooched her lips together mockingly. "Little guard dog, huh? How adorable," She teased, getting a heated stare from your partner in return.
"I prefer justified vigilance," Mitsu hissed back and added her own insults. "When in a den of snakes and vipers, one does not sup on their venom."
The woman growled lowly and shifted about, body aggressively posturing. "I don't like that. Don't insult the good drinks here."
(Yuuki Interrupt: 94 +15 (Empathy) +4 (Rank 2 Body Language) = 113)
Before the heated insulting could continue, you made your move and placed a hand reassuringly on your partner's shoulder. "Relax. We're here for drinks, not a fight. Plus, it wouldn't be good to start trouble yourself, yeah?" You suggested and your partner recognized your words with a slight bow of the head.
Then you turned to the smirking woman and unleashed your own counterattack. "And you're awfully sensitive about these drinks, despite serving us venom at the start," You pointed out and made a point by drinking from the safe alcohol now. "So I'd say you're biased, don't you think? Miss Bar Owner?"
"Niece, actually," The woman grumbled and shook her head. "Damn, you're observant. What that what gave it away?"
"Your accent, it's not from around here. Combined with the bar name and your quick defense, means you've got a personal connection to here." Your hand idly swirled the cup about and you gave a pointed look, not mentioning at all that you also had a police report visible in your eyes. "That make sense?"
"Suppose so." The woman drank deeply from a bottle before nodding, coming to a decision. "Right. I like you. Name's Shuiwei, and I help my folks out in running this little gathering of like-minded spirits. I'm captain of a little proud runner out on the docks otherwise. You just blow in from outside?"
"We're actually new locals," You explained, earning an 'ah' of understanding from the identified ship captain. "Getting a feel for the city, making connections, getting into trouble with other locals."
"Hah, well, welcome to Kagoshima." She made a mocking toast and laughed, taking it as an excuse to take a drink. "Still, you wanna hire somebody here? We've got plenty of folks here that wouldn't mind giving you a hand...for the right price."
"Not today. Here, I'm looking for information." You quickly laid your inquiry for something to pry into the media industry somehow. Shuiwei listened intently and hummed thoughtfully, thinking if there was any way to point you in at least a general direction.
(Media Inquiries: 14 +12 (Cool) +2 (Rank 1 Streetwise) = 28)
"Unfortunately, we don't really get many of those around here," She finally told with a shake of the head. "Sorry, but this neighborhood hasn't seen the likes of them for a while. You're looking in the wrong place. Maybe try Eaglesworth, they slurp up that drama real quick. I'll keep an ear out though, and let you if anything pops up. Shoot me your deets and I'll call."
Your shoulders slumped slightly, but you accepted the frank answer for what it was. At least if nothing else, perhaps you've made an interesting contact in this part of the city, if you decided that Shuiwei was worth keeping in touch with. She definitely sounded like somebody who could connect you with mercenaries that pass through the city, in case you wanted some one-time muscle for a job.
Yes, perhaps it was worth sharing your contact info then, much to the dismay of a grumpy Lycoris.
[ ] [Shuiwei] Share your call number for not just word on the media opportunity, but others in the future.
[ ] [Shuiwei] Share your call number, but only keep the contact until you grab the media information.
[ ] [Shuiwei] Politely insist on having a few more drinks first.
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- While you didn't succeed in getting info, you definitely are proving yourself as capable of holding your own in these sort of standoffs. So perhaps that's a success in itself, along with a nice drinking hole.Four hour moratorium to exchange phone numbers.
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