[semi-closed]

[dehallow]

Who ⬤ Barok van Zieks and associates!
What ⬤ Event things and the immediate event aftermath!
When ⬤ During Tanabata and in the following week.
Where ⬤ Underground, Kaigo no Bou, places.
Content Warnings ⬤ Alcohol, internalized homophobia. More to be added if needed.

[ This is a place to dump closed starters - but if you want a thread you are very free to hit me up on my plotting comment! ]

Comments

🔓 KAZUMA

[dehallow]

[ Barok van Zieks hates the atmosphere in Tamamo-run locations but he does love good drinks. This paradox has haunted him ever since he arrived in Jigoku-cho almost half a year ago. By now, he has a) understood that the best wine is inevitably going to be found in Tamamo Territory and only there, as well as b) developed a certain amount of calm about the debauchery around him. He's spent his whole life not dealing with his more carnal feelings, what can a few skimpily dressed Tamamo workers do to him? He has now convinced himself that he can indeed maintain his dignity existing in this environment by simply not interacting with it any more than absolutely necessary.

Buying an expensive wine that is still barely within his paygrade absolutely qualifies as necessary though.

Having now done so, Barok is keeping to a table by the side. His unapproachable aura tells everyone around that he is not a potential customer and the few who do dare approach him are quickly sent on their way. The workers around are honestly glad that he is a wallflower, because he's really ruining the atmosphere with his severe look. He can't help being a rather dark presence though. He's just drinking and observing the festivities quietly, in case something goes awry. Just a mildly drunk maudlin shadow in the corner...

But seeing Kazuma and (worse) making eye contact with Kazuma, he is forced by the rules of courtesy to give him a nod in greeting - which might dangerously look like an invitation to join him at this table and make conversation. ]

[karumic]

[Kazuma just got here and he's already regretting it.

For one, the drinks are horrendously expensive. As a Shuten grunt on the lowest rung who hasn't done much for supplemental income, everything on the menu is definitely out of his budget. Even the cheapest drink available cost enough to make him wince. At least they seem to be decently strong; Kazuma already has a pleasant buzz a few sips in, which he'll need if he's going to be nursing the one drink all night.

For two, the atmosphere is awful. Kazuma is far from a prude, but brothels still aren't really his idea of a good time. He'd thought the general celebration might dilute things a bit, but if anything it seems to have only emphasized them. At least his bouncer training had helped him with the skills to politely dodge any oncoming interest.

He'd just about made the decision to abort and find his evening entertainment elsewhere when he spots van Zieks, of all people, sequestered at a table by himself in the corner, a spot of gloom amongst all the debauchery and merrymaking. Not what he'd figure to be the man's scene, but how much does Kazuma know about anything, really? Not a whole lot. Some people contain multitudes, apparently.

He's aware enough to know that Barok's little nod was not, actually, an invitation, but Kazuma comes over and plops himself at the end of the little table anyway. He has nothing else to do, he's already a little tipsy, and Barok van Zieks seems like he'd be fun to annoy. So here he is, whether Barok is interested in company or not.]

Lord van Zieks. How have you been keeping?

[dehallow]

[ It would be nice, Barok thinks, if Kazuma had enough memory to feel even a fraction of the awkwardness that he feels when the two of them are talking. In hindsight, the way they danced around each other in the office during the small window of time between Kazuma regaining his memories and Gregson's demise had almost been easier than whatever this is. They'd been on equal footing then. Now it's just Barok who is lying and doing so without even voicing a single untruth.

And then there's... that sense of familiarity. He'd attended parties, back then. Social calls that needed to be heeded, tagging along with his respected brother and his respected brother's esteemed friend from overseas... Kazuma does not look much like his father, but there is something about the way he carries himself that is far too nostalgic for comfort.

Barok decides to try and do what he does best, which is suppress all feelings. ]

Busy, primarily. There is not a moment's worth of peace and quiet in this city. Have you been settling in?

[karumic]

[Kazuma makes a face and shrugs as he takes another sip of his drink. There's good humor in it, though; his expression is more wry than bitter.]

More or less. Oh.

[He taps the Shuten pin on his lapel. He hadn't bothered changing out of the so-called uniform before coming here.]

I didn't end up contracting with Enma, but I'm sure you'd figured that out by now.

[Should they even be talking like this? From what Kazuma can tell, it hardly seems to matter, really.]

[dehallow]

[ Yeah, not seeing Kazuma in Kaigo no Bou up until now had been a good sign that the two of them were not fated to be colleagues this time around. So... Shuten, it is then. Interesting. ]

The Enma made a mistake in not claiming you for our ranks. But it's nothing new to not know what he's thinking.

[ Or maybe Toraguma had been particularly invested in Kazuma? Odd thought, though Barok can't claim that the Shuten assignment doesn't fit Kazuma in some way. ]

🔓 YURI

[dehallow]

[ What wouldn't van Zieks give to either never run into Yuri Leclerc again or at least not run into him in the most awkward situations imaginable...

It feels like every time he meets the man, a new and unexpected facet of his personality is revealed. Online criminal, public protector and... escort? Gold Digger? That name the youkai boisterously introduced him with before his arm candy could get a word in was entirely unfamiliar. (Looking at the arrogant buffoon, van Zieks can at least understand not wanting to leave your real contact information around.)

Still, falsifying your identity in an interrogation is against the law. For a moment, van Zieks is tempted to simply rat him out but-- that charm did keep him save. He makes direct eye contact with Yuri as he speaks. ]

... your information has been noted. If you could now describe to me - in detail - what each of you saw during the incident...?

Re: 🔓 YURI

[playfoul]

[ The feeling is absolutely mutual. Even dolled up fancy, Yuri is sure he's been recognized, and for one heart-stopping moment he's sure the gig is up...before van Zieks moves on with the interrogation without a word.

The youkai thankfully notices none of the tension and does most of the talking, though he can't describe the exact moment of the incident because he had been... you know, preoccupied. To which Yuri agrees with a saccharine smile and, when turned away, a vague look of murder in his eyes.

It feels like an eternity before the questioning wraps. As much as he'd like to vanish, Yuri makes as if he's remembered a detail he needs to speak to the officer about and whispers something into his companion's ears. Whatever it is seems to placate the youkai enough for Yuri to detach himself and return to the lawyer. ]

Was I so stunning it struck you speechless? That can't be everything you wanted to ask.

[dehallow]

[ Van Zieks huffs, irritated. He and Yuri both know full well that Yuri was never going to say anything actually useful as long as that buffoon of a youkai was listening in - and the youkai himself had been entirely without intel. ]

The less I know about your intentions with this charade, the better for both of us.

[ Good for Yuri because he won't be charged with fraud and good for Barok because he won't have to deal with filing that charge... ]

I just need to know if your... company was lying. If nothing else, you surely are not amused with this incident either.

[playfoul]

It's the truth, if embellished to stroke his own ego.

[ Yuri gauges the man's response. The lawyer appeared neither interested in his business nor in holding his lie over him for leverage. Now would have been the perfect time to apply pressure, to make him spill...but perhaps that way of thinking is something only a nefarious mind like his is capable of.

Even so, van Zieks is right. Yuri's not pleased with the attempt on the lieutenant's life nor with the kidnapping. For a young woman who only wanted to be free, Ringo sure isn't now. This is what, the third time now a party has ended in disaster? He would very much like the perpetrators to be caught for once. ]

....But he lied about one thing. He knows of the Iron Bear, though I doubt he's had any personal dealings with them in the past. From the way he talks about the Bear, I reckon he's scared.

🔓 NORIMUNE

[dehallow]

[ Happy morning after disaster - or maybe more like 'happy afternoon', because even Barok had to get some sleep after overseeing interrogations until morning. He's not sure if he's hung-over or just exhausted, but neither will stop him from going back to work to file through all the notes that were taken yesterday.

Before that though, he wants to check in with someone he has barely seen in the commotion last night. Norimune is going to get a quick text. ]

Are you in your office right now?

[kikuichi]

[What a night, huh? Norimune did manage to catch some sleep and a change of clothes after they left the party. As nice as his yukata are, they're not proper work uniforms.

He's in the middle of checking his notes, pouring over them when he received a text message. After a quick glance at the sender's name, he respond back.]

I am. Are you coming over?

[dehallow]

I am.

[ There is no question for permission here - shit is serious and they need to touch bases. But after one second of thought, he adds a second message: ]

Do you require fresh coffee?

[ Barok certainly does. ]

[kikuichi]

[If it's any other day, Norimune would love to joke and tease. But now is no time for pleasantries and kaomojis.]

Yes, I do. Just black is fine.

[Norimune can always have his leisurely coffee another time.]

🔓 KATE

[dehallow]

[ There is exactly one thing that is worth it about this event and that is the selection of the finest drinks Tamamo has to offer - van Zieks has already spent 20 minutes merely walking up and down the display area, taking in the offered goods. The price tags make him wince a little and isn't that a novel experience for a nobleman who is used to being able to afford just about anything... Maybe this is all so he can appreciate wine in yet another new light. Maybe that is something good to come out of it...??

Either way, he's not leaving here without spending some of his savings. The opportunity is too good. Now that he's gotten an overview, it is time to inquire further. Not seeing anyone else, he flags down a bored-looking teenager by the stands. ]

Pardon. Do you happen to know the salesperson, girl?

[bratherine]

( She has one more hour to go. One more hour and she's scot free, a prospect which seems further away with every dragging moment. Sure, she agreed to cover this section of the palace for the last hour and a half of her shift, but that was because she heard the word commission and didn't so much hear the it's fucking boring part of it.

Serving drinks and snacks isn't exactly exciting, but at least she gets to move about and talk to people. Here, the only reason she hasn't pulled out her phone is because it's back in the staff room.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that when a customer finally pulls up to the counter, she's practically zoned out, leaning against a wall and fiddling with the pen she still had in the waistcoat of her work uniform. )

That'd be me.

( It's weird, to Kate, that it feels like she keeps running into other Brits here, in multiversal Japanese hell. But the familiarity of the accent is something, even if this guy talks like he owns grand national winners. )

What d'ya want?

[dehallow]

[ ... that'd be her. Alright then. Even with the finest selection of wines to be found in town, they could not afford to have actual experts behind the counter? At least her lackluster way of speaking and apparent youth do nothing to make van Zieks think she has true wine know-how.

But he will try not to judge a book by its cover. ]

I would like an overview of the reds you offer here. I am looking for a vintage of about a decade in age.

me tagging this after a day of wine translations...

[bratherine]

( ... No, he'd not exactly be wrong. She did sit through a day of training, but that's nothing close to the kind of training necessary for this.

Thankfully for everyone involved, someone set up a database on the computer registers, and Kate does know how to use that. A quick shuffle of the list and she's pulled up everything that matches. )

Leaves you with fifteen. ( Which would be a long tasting session. Fun, perhaps, but long. ) You got a budget in mind?

🔓 HARU

[dehallow]

[ Haru is around the 20th person van Zieks is interrogating tonight - doubtlessly dawn is well in progress aboveground. Everyone in the underground is tired and agitated, van Zieks being no exception.

Haru is called to his makeshift interrogation center, consisting of two chairs and a cleared-out buffet table. He glares at her, because that expression got stuck on his face two hours ago. ]

State your name, faction affiliation and location during the incident.

[empression]

[ Haru meets his glare with a resigned but if slightly frosty look of her own, though there's definite exhaustion in her eyes. Affiliation would have been easier to tell earlier in the evening, when she'd been in her suit to assist at the casino, but right now, in the white yukata with the pale blue and purple flowers, she just looks like a small and tired girl.

Nonetheless, she sits properly in the unclaimed chair, back stiff, chin held up, hands neatly in her lap. ]

Haru Okumura. I've only recently joined the Shuten faction and I was observing the announcement within the crowd, near the stage.

[dehallow]

[ This is a lot more orderly of a response than he is used to. Van Zieks can certainly appreciate as much. Where Haru is stiff and in posture, he reacts just a little. The prospect of not having to fight for every piece of testimony is an appealing one, this late into the evening. ]

Miss Okumura, then. Please recount what you saw at the same of the attack as well as any relevant snippets of information you may have come by during the evening.

[empression]

I would greatly appreciate it if you were to introduce yourself, as well. It seems impolite to risk addressing you improperly.

[ Listen, she just has to state that. She expects very little concession here, but she'll also be as unassuming as she needs to be, if just because Majima had instructed them not to make a scene. ]

... I didn't see much movement in the crowd near me, so wherever the attackers came from, it wasn't close to my position. I saw one lunge at Sakamoto-san, while the others grabbed that girl. I saw Toraguma-san... act accordingly.

[ He killed a man, Haru. She closes her eyes briefly. ]

The crowd was panicking, by then. I couldn't move, but I talked to Tenshi-san later and she was speaking to another of your faction and pointed out the direction she saw them leave. She couldn't pursue them with the crowd, which I can confirm was incredibly difficult to move around in when they fled.

🔓 SHYLOCK

[dehallow]

[ Earlier this night, Barok might have been cautiously inclined to call this the most successful mass event in Jigoku yet - now he just wishes he'd never bothered attending. For once, it was not an administrative failure (yet) that has him feeling this way... just his own personal lack of discretion and common sense.

Confused and disgusted with himself, he is currently trying to bail from Pleasure Palace entirely, barely watching his step.

Which means he's absolutely shouldering into Shylock, sorry. ]

Ah--- Forgive the carelessness...

[breweries]

[ well! burning heart aside, that was quite the horrific spectacle. nothing that shylock can do for now, since the enma are on top of it. it is a little sad that they're being made to work once again even after the festivities, but shylock is quite used to this at this point.

his thoughts are interrupted however, as someone mindlessly bumps into him. shylock starts and turns around to see who it is. ]

It is no problem, good sir.

[ at least his looks weren't too frazzled despite his affliction cropping up earlier -- ]

Though pardon me for pointing it out, but it seems you look like you've seen better days. Not that everyone here has gotten out of here unscathed.

THIS IS SO LATE, I am really sorry

[dehallow]

[ Van Zieks does his best to better his posture - the emotional confusion from his own matters and the tumultuous events on stage, they have left him worse for wear. He really needs to sober up some and it embarrasses him as a representative of the Enma to be caught before he had the chance to splash himself with cold water and hope for the best.

Now no longer in the middle of walking, he recognizes Shylock as the owner of a bar he goes to more often than others and that means the other may recognize him as well. Fantastic. ]

I have... experienced better nights, on a personal and professional level. If this city was not the whirlwind that it is, I would love to be headed home now instead of humiliating myself any further. Alas...

it's okay!

[breweries]

[ at this point, who hasn't heard of this esteemed member of the department? shylock usually doesn't converse with them outside of a couple of standouts (norimune and especially cain come to mind), but he likes to expand his networking circle juuuuust a little bit. ]

This realm does its best to keep its law enforcement awake and busy. No rest for the wicked, as they say.

[ fufu. ]

No need to go home right away after such an exciting night. I assume that you hadn't had much to drink in the underground, then. [ poor guy ] I have some things to check into at Hemlock, if you are interested to come with me for a spell.