Who ⬤ Emily and open! What ⬤ Monthly catchall - clinic work, music club, etc. When ⬤ Over May. Where ⬤ Across the city. Content Warnings ⬤ TBA if needed.
[There is not an alleyway nor side street in all of Jigoku-cho that isn't rife with points of varying interest. The street Emily has found herself meandering down is no different, dotted with various establishments excelling in both entertainment and distraction. Namely, on her path to the game center, just a little further down the street, she may have noticed a host club with an intricate logo emblazoned on its windows — a crane with blue-tipped feathers, spreading its wings mid-flight. In one of the windows, nestled in the corner, is a plushie variant of this same crane, big and soft and round with little round eyes.
A mascot character for a host club? Well, businesses do love their mascots, so maybe it's barely worth a notice.
At the arcade entrance, where Emily lingers, a man has already mistaken her presence as a willing participant in whatever commotion is currently unraveling within. That man is none other than Sholmes, who turns to her as though magnetized in her direction—]
Madam!
[And waves her over with one hand, the other adjusting the brim of his deerstalker.]
Step into this establishment and lend me a second pair of eyes. A second opinion. After all, I'm of a mind that there's more afoot in this place than what is immediately obvious.
[she starts a little, clearly not expecting to be addressed, but being basically commanded instead of asked to do something is pretty much the quickest way to have Emily assist with anything. dutifully, she comes that way, looking a bit concerned but keeping her eyes open.]
What exactly do you need me to look at, sir? What seems to be going on?
[she can't give an opinion without facts to work on.]
[Yes, of course you, Emily. There is no escaping it now -- you're officially strong-armed into this without any actual strong-arming happening, only the sweeping pull of expectation.]
Now then, that is the mystery I should like to unravel. Come in and see.
[And so Sholmes steps back inside the arcade with the assumption that she'll follow. It is not a terribly large place, at least not compared to some of the more sprawling spaces amid the city, but there are a fair amount of games that none should turn their nose up at. This includes, of course, the obligatory aisle of nothing more than crane games, not terribly far from the front counter.
He turns to face her again, gesturing with a hand to the individuals before them.]
I should direct your attention to the fellows before you -- there!
[The "fellows" he refers to are none other than:
A youkai at the counter, quite well-dressed for the establishment, his fox ears at a slant due to some unknown anxieties. He holds a screwdriver stiffly in one hand; on the back portion of the counter behind him rests an open toolbox. He looks at both Sholmes and Emily, wide-eyed, sputtering out a: W-welcome, did you need any assistance?
The second fellow is actually a small youkai child, holding a huge bucket of coins, proof of someone who has enough skill to wring dry several of these arcade machines. He's barely tall enough to look over the counter, but his indignity makes up for it. He motions at a collection of familiar-looking crane plushies, lined up very purposefully on the counter, face-forward, and declares: I was going to win those out of the machine! All of them! Why'd you take them out?!
The fox-eared youkai shoots him a look, citing, They're defective!
Meanwhile, Sholmes grins at Emily.]
Do you not sense something off here? Some great deceit underway? I should say that there are two shadowy wrongs amid this seemingly mundane scene: someone pretending to be who he is not, and an act of thievery brewing!
[she looks over the different components of the scene, eyes flickering between the child, the plushies, and the worker. there's something not right here, and it pricks at her senses, before she looks at the gentleman who's clearly trying to decipher something out of the situation.]
...Those toys aren't meant to be here. At the least, not within children's grasp. And yet here they are, where they don't belong, meaning someone made a grave error or committed some switchery.
[The youkai at the counter seems aghast, and all the more anxious, sputtering out a: What are you talking about? I work here!]
Ha! You work here as much as I do, good fellow — which is to say, not at all!
[Sholmes tilts his head at Emily, his manner expectant.]
In fact, I should say that he has another profession altogether! That of a doctor!
[What? sputters the youkai.]
What is it you have in your hand? A screwdriver! And if you'll look closely…
[(There is no camera or POV in this instance, and yet… oddly. The scene seems to shift, seems to zoom in towards the tool in the youkai's hand. Maybe it's all just a trick of the light.)]
There is a piece of thread caught on its end, matching a very particular blue belonging to the cranes before you!
What do you think, madam? [That's you, Emily.] Would you not agree that our stranger here is not only a doctor, but a surgeon, practicing his craft upon these poor stuffed birds?
No, he's not a surgeon, nor a doctor at all. Why would he waste his time upon stuffed creatures in the first place when if one wanted to do something like practice technique, they could perfectly well do so in other ways?
[it makes no sense, but she's looking at the screwdriver.]
Still, why would he need that to manipulate the case? Surely there are latches upon these contraptions - unless of course he was using the screwdriver for something else entirely.
[—says the man who just deduced seconds ago that this youkai was a doctor.]
The man is not a doctor at all, but neither is he an employee of this fine establishment! Far too well-dressed for someone in such a casual environment, who must sometimes see to the maintenance of these machines.
[Here, the youkai child pipes up: He said he's fixing all those cranes plushies, but there was nothing to fix! He grips his massive bucket of coins with such a furor they shake and jingle. They were fine! He took them all out just so I wouldn't win one! I'm too good at these games and he's just jealous!]
Hm. [Sholmes looks at Emily.] Perhaps, madam, I should direct your attention to the thread caught around the screwdriver. It has indeed been fiddling with these plushies in a most invasive manner — but why? Perhaps we should inspect one?
[part of this, she thinks, is keeping the child calm. but when the stranger points out the plushies, she nods, and picks one up, turning it over in her hands. she's feeling for unusual weight or if there's something off about the stitching - if there is, then it's not simply that the plush is the problem here.]
But I'm beginning to think it might not be something about these toys, but a particular one of these toys. Perhaps being used as a most innocent method to convey something far more than mere stuffing and advertisement.
[oh, she finds this to be getting rather exciting, actually.]
[Isn't it? Exciting, that is. Mysteries are what keep a man running in the face of the life's doldrums, and though Sholmes believes this to be a relatively simple case—despite his proclamation that this was a doctor visiting an arcade to practice his skills, and potentially walk away as a screwdriver-thief—there is still something thrilling to be found in the process between mystery and resolution.
He grins, eyes sparkling.]
Perhaps you might wish to dive—
[The youkai at the counter freezes, eyes fixed on the plushie in Emily's hands. It's just a plush! There's nothing special about it! We can't even get rid of the damn things back at— His words halt, then, as though he's said too much. He stands as stiff as a board.]
—in. I imagine your suspicions run parallel to mine.
[If Emily were to turn the crane in her hands over, she would notice a long, ripped seam down the middle of its back. Stuffing puffs out from its confines. It is rather heavy for a stuffed animal, as though something weighs in its middle.]
[if it's in her hands, then she turns it over, and starts pulling the stuffing out, looking up at the youkai. surely, he can't mind her investigating, now that he's already here, and it's in her hands.]
Where is it best to hide a specific toy? Why, among a sea of its fellows, after all.
[The youkai indeed looks like a deer caught in headlights, clearly watching Emily pick out the stuffing from the crane. Sholmes watches on with mild interest, unearthing his pipe from his pocket and placing it at his lips to let it hang there loosely. He makes no attempt to pack it nor light it — just the gesture alone is familiar.]
I think you may find—
[If she continues to search, eventually Emily will notice something that is definitely not soft, white stuffing. It is cool to the touch and very much solid; if she pulls it out, unfurling it like a prize to be won (ironically), she will find in her hands a very stunning necklace, weighted with history but well-kept.]
—that there is, indeed, a prize within that prize!
[The young kid youkai ooohs, though likely not understanding the situation in full. The older youkai at the counter presses a hand to his face and groans.]
It seems like our dear fellow here was trying to smuggle his ill-gotten gains away from the scene of the crime, only to regain them when the time was right. It appears he misjudged exactly when that time was.
Particularly not keeping in mind that there are young ones with a certain knack for outwitting these machines and pride to uphold.
[the necklace in her hand, she looks at the situation, and makes a decision.]
Well, sir, since we've found the truth, if there are any more bonuses to be discovered in these dolls, you may as well confess so we might return them to their homes. If you cooperate, we may not see a need to extend this conversation past ourselves.
[to put it lightly, she doesn't want to leap to involving the Department.]
[The young child youkai puffs up a little, proud to take that description onto themself where "outwitting the machines" are concerned.
The other, however, looks as though he might be offended, until something in him deflates, losing all desire to argue the point. Sholmes knows the body language well — the sign of someone caught red-handed, now giving up their deceit.
I… I guess it's obvious enough that I don't exactly work here, he starts, head drooping, eyes looking pitifully upon the necklace in Emily's hand.]
Quite so. Obvious, that is. I do recall seeing a similar, ah, mascot character a few blocks down? In the window of a "host club", is that not right?
[Yeah, that's right. Our manager went a little nuts on marketing last month, so we had too many of these plushies to know what to do with. Clients could purchase one, but who's going to buy a stuffed animal when you could just drown yourself in drinks, you know?
Anyway, we decided to just get rid of 'em, ship them off to a local arcade; at least it's free marketing that way, too. But… he trails off.]
But you saw an opportunity, didn't you? To steal from one of your apparent clients?
[A long pause. A long sigh. Yeah. Yeah, it was too tempting not to give it a shot — figured I could smuggle it out inside one of these cranes and swing by to retrieve it later. It's the only one; I didn't stuff jewelry in any more. Promise. You can check if you want.]
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no subject
A mascot character for a host club? Well, businesses do love their mascots, so maybe it's barely worth a notice.
At the arcade entrance, where Emily lingers, a man has already mistaken her presence as a willing participant in whatever commotion is currently unraveling within. That man is none other than Sholmes, who turns to her as though magnetized in her direction—]
Madam!
[And waves her over with one hand, the other adjusting the brim of his deerstalker.]
Step into this establishment and lend me a second pair of eyes. A second opinion. After all, I'm of a mind that there's more afoot in this place than what is immediately obvious.
no subject
[she starts a little, clearly not expecting to be addressed, but being basically commanded instead of asked to do something is pretty much the quickest way to have Emily assist with anything. dutifully, she comes that way, looking a bit concerned but keeping her eyes open.]
What exactly do you need me to look at, sir? What seems to be going on?
[she can't give an opinion without facts to work on.]
no subject
Now then, that is the mystery I should like to unravel. Come in and see.
[And so Sholmes steps back inside the arcade with the assumption that she'll follow. It is not a terribly large place, at least not compared to some of the more sprawling spaces amid the city, but there are a fair amount of games that none should turn their nose up at. This includes, of course, the obligatory aisle of nothing more than crane games, not terribly far from the front counter.
He turns to face her again, gesturing with a hand to the individuals before them.]
I should direct your attention to the fellows before you -- there!
[The "fellows" he refers to are none other than:
A youkai at the counter, quite well-dressed for the establishment, his fox ears at a slant due to some unknown anxieties. He holds a screwdriver stiffly in one hand; on the back portion of the counter behind him rests an open toolbox. He looks at both Sholmes and Emily, wide-eyed, sputtering out a: W-welcome, did you need any assistance?
The second fellow is actually a small youkai child, holding a huge bucket of coins, proof of someone who has enough skill to wring dry several of these arcade machines. He's barely tall enough to look over the counter, but his indignity makes up for it. He motions at a collection of familiar-looking crane plushies, lined up very purposefully on the counter, face-forward, and declares: I was going to win those out of the machine! All of them! Why'd you take them out?!
The fox-eared youkai shoots him a look, citing, They're defective!
Meanwhile, Sholmes grins at Emily.]
Do you not sense something off here? Some great deceit underway? I should say that there are two shadowy wrongs amid this seemingly mundane scene: someone pretending to be who he is not, and an act of thievery brewing!
no subject
...Those toys aren't meant to be here. At the least, not within children's grasp. And yet here they are, where they don't belong, meaning someone made a grave error or committed some switchery.
i'm sorry
Ha! You work here as much as I do, good fellow — which is to say, not at all!
[Sholmes tilts his head at Emily, his manner expectant.]
In fact, I should say that he has another profession altogether! That of a doctor!
[What? sputters the youkai.]
What is it you have in your hand? A screwdriver! And if you'll look closely…
[(There is no camera or POV in this instance, and yet… oddly. The scene seems to shift, seems to zoom in towards the tool in the youkai's hand. Maybe it's all just a trick of the light.)]
There is a piece of thread caught on its end, matching a very particular blue belonging to the cranes before you!
What do you think, madam? [That's you, Emily.] Would you not agree that our stranger here is not only a doctor, but a surgeon, practicing his craft upon these poor stuffed birds?
no subject
[it makes no sense, but she's looking at the screwdriver.]
Still, why would he need that to manipulate the case? Surely there are latches upon these contraptions - unless of course he was using the screwdriver for something else entirely.
no subject
[—says the man who just deduced seconds ago that this youkai was a doctor.]
The man is not a doctor at all, but neither is he an employee of this fine establishment! Far too well-dressed for someone in such a casual environment, who must sometimes see to the maintenance of these machines.
[Here, the youkai child pipes up: He said he's fixing all those cranes plushies, but there was nothing to fix! He grips his massive bucket of coins with such a furor they shake and jingle. They were fine! He took them all out just so I wouldn't win one! I'm too good at these games and he's just jealous!]
Hm. [Sholmes looks at Emily.] Perhaps, madam, I should direct your attention to the thread caught around the screwdriver. It has indeed been fiddling with these plushies in a most invasive manner — but why? Perhaps we should inspect one?
no subject
[part of this, she thinks, is keeping the child calm. but when the stranger points out the plushies, she nods, and picks one up, turning it over in her hands. she's feeling for unusual weight or if there's something off about the stitching - if there is, then it's not simply that the plush is the problem here.]
But I'm beginning to think it might not be something about these toys, but a particular one of these toys. Perhaps being used as a most innocent method to convey something far more than mere stuffing and advertisement.
[oh, she finds this to be getting rather exciting, actually.]
no subject
He grins, eyes sparkling.]
Perhaps you might wish to dive—
[The youkai at the counter freezes, eyes fixed on the plushie in Emily's hands. It's just a plush! There's nothing special about it! We can't even get rid of the damn things back at— His words halt, then, as though he's said too much. He stands as stiff as a board.]
—in. I imagine your suspicions run parallel to mine.
[If Emily were to turn the crane in her hands over, she would notice a long, ripped seam down the middle of its back. Stuffing puffs out from its confines. It is rather heavy for a stuffed animal, as though something weighs in its middle.]
no subject
Where is it best to hide a specific toy? Why, among a sea of its fellows, after all.
no subject
I think you may find—
[If she continues to search, eventually Emily will notice something that is definitely not soft, white stuffing. It is cool to the touch and very much solid; if she pulls it out, unfurling it like a prize to be won (ironically), she will find in her hands a very stunning necklace, weighted with history but well-kept.]
—that there is, indeed, a prize within that prize!
[The young kid youkai ooohs, though likely not understanding the situation in full. The older youkai at the counter presses a hand to his face and groans.]
It seems like our dear fellow here was trying to smuggle his ill-gotten gains away from the scene of the crime, only to regain them when the time was right. It appears he misjudged exactly when that time was.
no subject
[the necklace in her hand, she looks at the situation, and makes a decision.]
Well, sir, since we've found the truth, if there are any more bonuses to be discovered in these dolls, you may as well confess so we might return them to their homes. If you cooperate, we may not see a need to extend this conversation past ourselves.
[to put it lightly, she doesn't want to leap to involving the Department.]
no subject
The other, however, looks as though he might be offended, until something in him deflates, losing all desire to argue the point. Sholmes knows the body language well — the sign of someone caught red-handed, now giving up their deceit.
I… I guess it's obvious enough that I don't exactly work here, he starts, head drooping, eyes looking pitifully upon the necklace in Emily's hand.]
Quite so. Obvious, that is. I do recall seeing a similar, ah, mascot character a few blocks down? In the window of a "host club", is that not right?
[Yeah, that's right. Our manager went a little nuts on marketing last month, so we had too many of these plushies to know what to do with. Clients could purchase one, but who's going to buy a stuffed animal when you could just drown yourself in drinks, you know?
Anyway, we decided to just get rid of 'em, ship them off to a local arcade; at least it's free marketing that way, too. But… he trails off.]
But you saw an opportunity, didn't you? To steal from one of your apparent clients?
[A long pause. A long sigh. Yeah. Yeah, it was too tempting not to give it a shot — figured I could smuggle it out inside one of these cranes and swing by to retrieve it later. It's the only one; I didn't stuff jewelry in any more. Promise. You can check if you want.]