Not All Treasure is Silver & Gold (DE, R) ❷✗

[Deleted]

✶ Name: Not All Treasure is Silver & Gold

✶ Participants: Shinigami + 1 Human (Kaen Youji, Ranth Amanite, July Kasumi’Oji + Luke Clyburn)

✶ Location: Port Royal, Jamaica

✶ Difficulty Level: Hard

✶ Setting: DE/DP

✶ Plotline: Somehow, some way, someone from the Human World managed to reach out to Seireitei about a very peculiar problem. It’s the same in UE. It’s a missing persons case. Who? You don’t know. Even worse, you don’t have the slightest idea where to start except for making contact with someone in Port Royal, Jamaica. The details were awfully ambiguous and unfortunately, you’re expected to figure it out.

You start in Port Royal, Jamaica, bar hopping & searching for a man named “Seba”

✶ Estimated Enemy Strength: Class 5 - 1

✶ Estimated Time Until Completion: 8 maybe?

✶ Starts: Port Royal, Jamaica

✶ Special Conditions: Parts of this adventure will keep your stats suppressed (I wanna keep you guys even :3). Some parts you’ll be back to normal.

Oh yeah, I probably should have specified. Don't take longer than a week to reply. Lol.

[Deleted]

The motorcycles engines died down as the bike came to a stop outside the doors. The man resting on the bikes seat turned his helmeted gaze to the sign above the doors to the building. While his facial expression was hidden beneath the tinted visor, it was clear based on his body language that this had been the place he’d been looking for. Deploying the kickstand to the black motorcycle, the man removed himself from the seat and made his way to the entrance doors of the bar. Pushing it open, the man dressed in his bikers outfit entered the bar. It was nice to be out of the Jamaican summer sun, and for more reasons than him being a daywalking vampire.

Entering into the air conditioned and darker bar, Luke reached up and removed the black with red stripes helmet from his head. With a tired look in his eyes he scanned the bar, catching sight of the few people lounging around. Approaching the bar with helmet held under his left arm, Luke noticed the bartender catch his eye. Placing his helmet atop the table, Luke locked eyes with the bartender who was busy washing a glass. ”What do you want?” the bartender asked as Luke finished putting his helmet on the table. Keeping his brown eyes on the man, Luke answered with ”Looking for a man named Seba. You know anyone with that name?” The bartender raised an eyebrow.

”This is a bar. Buy something or leave.” the man replied rather rudely, but blinked with surprise when Luke pulled a few Jamaican dollars. ”One iced tea.” Luke replied without skipping a beat, earning a exhausting “are you serious” look from the bartender before pocketing the money and getting to work giving Luke his drink. ”Seba though...hmm...can’t say I know anyone by that name.” the bartender replied with a much more relaxed tone, no doubt because Luke was an actual paying customer. Handing Luke his glass, he went back to work leaving Luke standing there.

With a frown on his face, the Bount reached forward and grabbed the glass in one clear movement and lifted it to his lips. Finishing the cold drink in three or four gulps he put the cup down with a satisfying slam, grateful for having something to drink after all this heat. But now he was faced with another problem. This was the fourth bar that didn’t know anything. Luke mentally complained, furrowing his brow as he looked down at the glass. As he said in his head, this was now the fourth bar he visited trying to find someone named “Seba”.

Missing persons reports were serious business when it came to how UE viewed them. While they were certainly serious to the rest of the world, when you were actually aware of the invisible side of the world around you it made such cases even worse. Still, UE usually operated in house. What that meant was they normally focused on missing persons cases in Karakura Town. For Luke to be sent to, of all places, Port Royal...it was certainly something different. Luke, admittedly, didn’t know much about Jamaica and even less about Port Royal. It was supposed to be a really historic place for Jamaica right? Because of pirates? And that an earthquake in the sixteen hundreds really fucked it up.

Point was, even though Luke didn’t know much about this place historically it didn’t stop him from realizing just how fucking small this town was. He had a map of the town on both his smartphone and a physical one stowed away inside his jacket. ”We’re running out of bars too. Luke heard in his mind, the voice of his Doll, Windstarke, being like a cool breeze in his ears. Yeah. I might start checking out hotels next. Luke replied, closing his eyes for a moment to focus on his thoughts and talking with his Doll.

”I’ve got a better idea!” And here came Jäger. ”Start doing your vampire thing on people. Use that artificial charisma to charm people into giving you answers. Then find a nice sailor to weigh an anchor in your a-” and like that Luke cut Jäger out with a mental wall. While the first part of his idea wasn’t bad, it wasn’t something he wanted to resort to right now. ”Can I get another?” Luke asked, his question directed at the bar tender. One more cold drink before he went back out into the scorching heat.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Only villains suppress a heroes stats}

• [Weapon: Swords] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Anti-Stealth] {2}
  
  
• [Charisma/Leadership] {1}
  
  
• [Battle Focus] {3}
  
  

Luke | Soldier

Strength - 100 (50) Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 800 Points

Light Aura - 100 Points

Dark Aura - 0 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 100 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points


x1 Tempered Uchigatana
x1 Supersuit MKII

[July Kasumi'Oji]

”Is there a place for the hopeless sinner, Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs?~ ♪”

July skipped down the street, in a Gigai that looked precisely like his soul form. Of course, this drew more than a few gazes in the ostensibly modern streets of the Jamaican city. Exciting times these were indeed! There he had been, rifling through more and more paperwork, trying to deal with things as they came up. Classing Squad 8 shenanigans, of course. The paperwork was like a treadmill. Only there was no end, except of course, the paper he had left face-up on the table. The missive that demanded that he should come here! Port Royal, Jamaica! How could he turn down this opportunity! A chance to get away, to escape the shackles that his Squad members had installed in his desk (though it took only a release of his Shikai to escape such bindings).

How he got out was not important. What was important was that he was now here, here in this city, here and now. Here and now… Looking for this mysterious Seba person. The mission had been approved by the Soul Society, of course (well, July had approved it - these kind of trips did not seem to bother Central 46 too much). But who in their right minds would turn down this mission?! A mysterious request from someone who wanted to meet in the historical capital of piracy?! Ludicrous. Positively preposterous! July plucked a flower from a nearby over-sized bouquet - the beleaguered man carrying it did not realise - and sniffed it. The fresh scent of magnolias in the morning - well, day, but who was counting! - was just too much to resist.

July spun on his heel, and gently placed the flower in the hair of a passing young girl - much to the consternation of her parents. But July flashed them a smile, twirling elegantly as he continued his skipping without missing a single beat. A cannonball of green and gold that careened along the port-side walk behind the anti-piracy defences. The sight brought a smile to his face - he had been living in Britain when these had been built on behalf of the Empire! Not that the general public of London would have known or cared about the situation here. Georgians had been remarkably good at ignoring everything that was beyond the end of their powdered noses. They had somehow even missed the memo about the Renaissance - the biggest party in Europe! What a shame, what a shame. Perhaps he should have lived here instead, it would have been more exciting. Much more exciting.

Though then there would not have been all that stuff with the assassin with the unusual hat, the slippers made from poison oak and that horrible, horrible scene where the man choked on his own wife’s… Perhaps England had been the more exciting place after all! He had had a lot of… Well, well. It seemed he had arrived at the appointed place, at the appointed hour. Well, there had been no particular instructions so this bar was not any way particularly more appointed than the last one. It was just that there was someone in there worth seeing, it seemed. How fun! How delightful! A friend, perhaps, in this wonderful trip. Their Reiatsu signature was passive. Perhaps they were drinking? Oh well, no matter.

To say July flung open the door would be an overstatement. But the energy with which he caused the door to be more open than closed was more than what people usually invested in door-opening. What a delightfully roundabout way of thinking about such an easy thing. Delightful, delightful! Like metachirality! Of course, July was not trying to be hidden. Sure, he drew strange stares, but he was hardly that unusual. Sure, his style was a little dated by these modern standards. Sure his boundless energy and sparkling eyes drew some from the early-afternoon drinkers. But that was the desired effect. July even batted his eyelashes at those whose gazes lingered for a little too long. This wasn’t quite the place where that behaviour was ‘tolerated’, however, and the patrons mostly seemed unwilling to engage with a man who obviously put a lot of effort into his appearance (that assumption would be mistaken, however - July was just naturally this gorgeous).

With an exaggerated motion, July sat down at the bar. It seemed the guy who was tickling his radar was the one who sat not too far by - in the biker leathers and with the helmet at his feet. Gosh, what an absolute lad this guy must be. July would have to ask him out on his motorbike at a later stage. He had always wanted to try Chicken…

The other man would have a harder time getting a good read on July, simply because July had had his Limiter activated. To those on the outside, he would look like a barely above-average human (purely in terms of combat capability - July couldn’t even see the average he was so far above it in terms of looks). Even his Spiritual Abilities were mostly suppressed. Nobody would guess he was… shock, horror…. famous! Even seeing that he was a Shinigami would be basically impossible to those without insanely high Energy Sensory. They would be going off appearance alone. And, sure, if they recognised him by that…. well, it wasn’t his fault that he was too famous for his own good?

”A virgin Fanta lemon, if you would please, bartender.”

July adopted a very light British accent - nothing betraying his usual self. The voice he affected was calm, polite - a contrast to the sparkling energy of his eyes and motion. A deliberate hook, should the man next to him want to cooperate. July now very much wanted to ride a motorbike.

July’s Physical and Spiritual Stats are set to 110 (or to his base stats, if lower) by his Limiter.

SPOILER: Click to show

{July's Stats}

Strength - [100] Points -> [60] Points from Cunning Type

Speed - [400] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [400] Points -> [640] Points from Cunning Type

Reiatsu Strength - [200] Points -> [120] Points from Cunning Type

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [200] Points -> [400] Points from Cunning Type

Senses - [150] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [100] Points


Total SP: [1600] Points

• [Battle Skill: Dagger/Knives] {4}
• [Utility Skill: Acting] {3}
• [Body Skill: Acrobatics] {3}
• [Body Skill: Stealth] {2}
• [Mental Skill: Strength of Will] {2}
• [Mental Skill: Analysing] {3}

[Ranth]

Port Royal. A village located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and commerce in the Caribbean Sea by the latter half of the 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake on June 7, 1692, which had an accompanying tsunami. Severe hurricanes were quite common in the region in fact- with the unfortunate people who called the place home having had their homes regularly damaged by them. However, a truly monstrous Earthquake hadn't been recorded since 1907.

Port Royal was once home to privateers who were encouraged to attack Habsburg Spain's vessels at a time when smaller European powers dared not make war on Spain directly. As a port city, it was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals. It was a popular port for the English and Dutch-sponsored privateers to spend their treasure during the 17th century. When those governments abandoned the practice of issuing letters of marque to privateers against the Spanish treasure fleets and possessions in the later 16th century, many of the crews turned pirate. They continued to use the city as their main base during the 17th century and Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal, coming from waters as far away as Madagascar.

That was, of course, a long time ago by human world standards and this history was, of course, the reason why the exceptionally popular Human world movie franchise Pirates of the Caribbean used the location extensively throughout its various installments. It was in this storied location that two figures emerged from a Senkaimon in the middle of the main thoroughfare. Of course, nobody would bat an eyelid at this spectacle because not a single spiritually aware being was present to see it. Amidst the bustling crowd, nobody noticed when two more bodies joined the crowd out of seemingly nowhere.

"Do you think he knew we were meant to meet at the gate?" Of the two new arrivals, the one to speak was the taller of the pair- sporting a blue coat that was open at the front to reveal a grey and red t-shirt underneath with long checkered pants and brown shoes (second from the right). With silver hair and golden eyes, his name was Ranth Amanite and although he was currently disguised as a human through the use of a gigai, he was a Shinigami. His companion was a slightly shorter man with dark hair and a deceptively slender build and like Ranth, he was a Shinigami as well. His name... Kaen Youji.

"I suppose it doesn't matter either way. I don't know about you but I'm not thrilled to try and reprimand a Captain for not following instructions", Ranth sighed in response to whatever his companion had to say. What were they discussing you ask? Why, the fact that although they were a pair, they were supposed to be a trio. At least, according to the missive they had each been given. The instructions had been to meet at the entrance to the Senkaimon and travel together to Port Royal to begin their mission. However, when Ranth and Kaen arrived, they'd been informed that their third member had already been and went almost twenty minutes earlier.

Who was this mysterious third member? Why, none other than the captain of Squad 8- July Kasumi'Oji. For someone like Ranth who had yet to achieve a rank of any great importance, he had no notion of holding someone of such a vastly superior rank to account. Kaen was a little different, since up until quite recently he'd been the Vice Captain of Squad 7. However, he'd stepped down from that position in order for Rin Minamimoto to take up the position after returning from a leave of absence- the details of which Ranth wasn'y entirely clear on and knew better than to question an Empress about such personal details. Still, in Ranth's eyes kaen was still a Vice Captain in all but name and so he found himself once again feeling like the weakest link in the team- despite many regarding him as the defacto Vice captain of the Kido Corps- Rin Minamimoto included among them.

"Well, he doesn't have much of a head start on us... so if we go to the first bar we see, maybe we'll get lucky", Ranth said with a rather distinct lack of confidence as the pair considered their options when it came to tracking down the errant Captain. Their mission parameters were exceedingly vague- with nothing but a name to go on and the trope that bars were the best place to look for information when it came to any missing persons case. "Might as well start with that one", Ranth pointed roughly thirty meters down the street to where a small group of urchins were halfway through dismantling an expensive looking motorcycle.

But Ranth wasn't pointing to the scene of autocanibalism, but rather to the sign above it which prominently displayed an image of two pints with the words "Port Royal Lounge", in fancy gold lettering. Together the pair approached the entrance and Ranth pushed open the door before politely gesturing for Kaen to lead the way inside. "I don't actually know what the Captain looks like", Ranth admitted sheepishly.

[Kaen Youji]

Ahhh! Port Royal! The Carribbean! The land of pirates and plunderers! Swashbuckling and battle on the high seas....Or that's what popular media had taught Kaen about the place. The reality was somewhat more disappointing. Especially since Kaen had dressed his gigai for the occasion. Normally clad in a slightly modified Shinigami uniform-- black cloth, with ripped off sleeves, Kaen had instead opted for an entirely different apparel. One his Vice Captain and Captain alike might have cried to have seen. Kaen was currently wearing a beige naval coat, with the front open and completely shirtless underneath, exposing a myriad of scars crossing his slender, but toned physique underneath. Loose, black pants to go with the shirt and finishing the look with a pair of leather boots. ....Oh and he was wearing an eye patch. Yes. An eyepatch. A big black eyepatch covered Kaen's left eye, going well with the scar. Honestly, it looked like Kaen was dressed up to go to some kind of convention or another. Really the only reason the Shinigami wasn't carrying a cutlass with him, was because that was probably frowned upon. And he was just as dangerous without a weapon as with one, anyways. He did have a big old knife in his boot though! ....Well he did. Then he found it was really uncomfortable and had removed it before arriving. He was also missing a tricorn hat, but that one was personal preference. Kaen didn't do well with hats. His hair didn't agree with them, though it was truly a marvelous sight after he removed one. As messy and unkempt as Kaen's hair was, it got even worse with hats. The Third Seat got a bad case of helmet hair.

Absurd apparel aside, Kaen was glad to get to the Human World. Following the last major battle at Soul Society, he, along with Ranth and Wycliff had attempted to get Kaen’s Vice Captain, Rin Minamimoto past enemy lines with a variation of the time honoured stratagem “Get Help”. While the technique normally involved dragging someone who was acting like they were ill to lower the enemy’s guard and then throwing the person at the enemy, the three had created a variant in which instead of throwing the subject at the enemy, they threw the subject past the enemy. It had really been quite fantastic. The problem was that they had failed to inform Rin herself of what exactly they were planning, and that had gone quite badly for Kaen. Since then, the third seat had been desperately trying to appease the Empress’s wrath, which was directed at the primary culprit she could vent her fury on. Which was himself. Eeesh. It was very good for Kaen to be able to escape to the Human World, from outside the Empress’s direct influence. And fitting that it seemed he was to be working alongside Ranth today as well!

Speaking of Ranth…. He had clearly adopted a far less conspicuous type of apparel, seeming like just another person in the crowd. Indeed, while some people might have simply overlooked the group melting into the crowd from the Senkaimon, Kaen was attracting a fair number of odd looks due to his remarkably out of place apparel, for all the world looking like someone stepping out of the 18th century. ”Who knows where he expected us to meet.” Kaen answered Ranth. ”It’s fine! He’s a Captain! I’m sure you and I will be able to sense his presence a mile away, right!?” He suggested. ”There can’t be that many Captain-class people around here, and if we get the wrong one, it’s good to get them on our radar anyways, so it works out both ways. And if a scuffle breaks out, July will probably find us. In the meantime, we got told to find some guy named Seb right? So let’s start looking! And my pirate instincts are telling me, that bars are the best place for information!” Kaen said, as Ranth picked out an establishment and they head inside. Kaen was talking nonsense. He didn’t have pirate instincts. He was just getting way too in-character. As Kaen strode inside, chest out and grinning like an idiot, he attracted a few more stares from the patrons. As Ranth mentioned not knowing what July looked like, Kaen looked back. ”I’m sure we’ll be able to figure it out, no problem.” He suggested, cheerfully, and continued inside. He extended his energy sensory. Due to July’s limiter, Kaen overlooked the Captain initially, given his own poor ability to sense reiatsu. But… There was another one. One Kaen recognized. It had a familiar feel to it. Where had he sensed this before….? Kaen scanned the bar for a moment, then picked out a face. Oh…. That guy. That was a face he remembered. For a brief moment, Kaen forgot about the mission. He glanced at Ranth. ”You look around a bit. I’m gonna go take care of something real quick.” He commented, walking over toward Luke and taking a seat by him. The bartender looked a little surly, and was glaring daggers at Kaen (probably on account of his outfit, not that Kaen noticed) so the third seat spoke up quickly. ”Priciest rum you’ve got.” He told him. ”Straight.” Kaen didn’t know his alcohols that well. He only drank occasionally, but he figured ordering a more expensive drink would probably let the bartender overlook things at least a little. And besides, everyone knew pirates drank rum!

So that left the gentleman Kaen had just sat beside. ”Long time no see.” He said, without looking directly at Luke. ”Hope you recovered well. I’d like apologize about… well…. Last time.” He commented. He was doing his best to keep his face flushing with shame. Last time Kaen had run into Luke, Luke had gotten caught up in a misunderstanding and Kaen had gone straight for blood, without stopping to ask questions. He’d been in a state of extreme depression then, but that didn’t justify it, and Kaen felt rightfully ashamed of himself now, over his actions. He figured he’d wait a minute or two to let Luke answer first though.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
• [Martial Art- Karate] {4}
• [Pain Tolerance] {3}
• [Martial Art-Jiujitsu] {3}
• [Analyzing] {2}
• Hakuda {3}
• Zanjutsu {2}
• Strength of Will {2}
Total: 20

[[Strength - 375 Points (600)
Speed - 375 Points (600)
Spiritual Pressure - 200 Points (150)
Reiatsu Strength - 325 Points
Light Aura - 45 Points
Dark Aura - 55 Points
Instinct- 175 Points
Senses- 100 Points
Energy sensory - 50 Points
Healing Expertise - 0 Points
Total: 1600 SP]

[Deleted]

[[ooc: my bike now. yahoooo]]

Beautiful Port Royal, Jamaica. Home to a great deal of history and piracy. Oh, especially piracy. There was so much to this place that whatever was set up, likely only scratched the surface of whatever this island had to offer. You all know that though, you all read the wiki. All of that was in the shadows of course. Tourism was just a lovely, convenient front. Talk of pirates and curses of the sea kept silly humans flocking to this former capital. Mystified and curious people always kept someone else’s wallets fat. Crime was very much alive and was rampant in these parts.

It was a hell of a summer day which was very soon turning into night and at this time of the year, tourism was at its height. This island by the sea was filled to the brim with people. One place was packed just as much as the other with bartenders scrambling to attend to every newcomer and everyone that needed to be topped off. Port Royal Lounge was buzzing but it wasn’t the hottest spot on the map right now. In the bartender’s confusion of the hustle and bustle, instead of giving him an iced tea, Luke received a Long Island Ice Tea instead after a few minutes of waiting.

Still, the question about “Seba” was enough to make him slow down for half a second, his eyes glancing at Luke. There were a lot of things that went on in this island and he wanted to keep his nose out of it. This man on a motorcycle who just came into his bar out of nowhere asking for Seba? Looks like trouble honestly. This overworked bartender doesn’t actually know of Seba but has an idea of who might or could point them in a direction of a place where they’d find where they’re looking for. Just like everything else in this town, money talks and it’ll take buying a few shots or drinks to get him talking. His attention turned to Kaen who he scowled at initially, raising an eyebrow at his entire get up. Of course, such an expression washed away instantly at the words “priciest rum”. Kaen’s needs would be met with immediately. For the other customer..?

“Pay up, Sunshine.”

Kaen was already all the freak he needed for tonight and for the money hungry bartender, he was not having July’s shit. None of the men seemed barely able tolerate him actually. He raised an eyebrow at the flamboyant Brit. Coming in here in his bar with his happy go lucky attitude and his dumb outfit and his stupid good looks… Ah! Speaking of which! “On me!” July would see a hand slap down some cash just beside him and if he cared to turn it would be a pretty brunette girl in an outfit that was a little too tight who clearly came from a table of other girls who looked just the same. Some of them were whispering excitedly about the blondie who chose to sit just a few feet away from them. His entrance was apparently something noteworthy and the bartender scoffed and served him. Some of those girls looked like locals and others looked like they were on vacation. Perhaps they were having a girls night out? The locals of the group might have some information.

For Ranth, he was a free agent. He was free to roam about as he luckily wasn’t noticed by the money hungry bartender yet. He could either join his friend at the bar and order something or linger about near July. If he chose to do neither of those things, he’d see an old, lonely drunkard sitting near a window, singing to himself with an empty glass. This little area seemed more calm and less hectic compared to the rest of the bar which was starting to get more hectic the closer to night it got. This old man looked like he knew the lay of the land and every local tale and myth. If Ranth chose to sit with him, he could probably ask about Seba and also have front row seats to various children sitting on Luke’s bike, pretending to be super cool heroes before falling off and working on dismantling it.

[Deleted]

Using my post to socialize a bit with Kaen

”You sense them right, Luke?”

Even though the bartender had given Luke the completely wrong drink when his establishment began to grow busy, Luke didn’t protest or fight to get what he ordered. He let the long island iced tea simply sit there, untouched, as a serious expression painted his features. He lightly frowned, feeling the reiatsu signatures of at least three different people approaching the bar, but what caused him to grow a bit anxious were what the sources of those signals were. Yeah.. Luke replied, keeping his gaze straight forward as someone came to sit down beside him.

Luke didn’t need to look at him to know who it was. The reiatsu signature had been enough for Luke to recognize him. Even if he had been suppressing his reiatsu, being this close to a Bount trained in Anti-Stealth would have revealed him. ”Long time no see.” Luke heard him say. In the back of his mind, Luke had to wonder if the reason there were two more Shinigami here alongside Kaen was because they were intending to get the jump on him. It was the thought of someone who didn’t trust Soul Reapers, but given what Luke was why should he trust them? In the past Luke was perfectly fine being buddy buddy with Shinigami, but that was before either group found out what Luke actually was.

Regardless, Luke remained quiet as Kaen apologized. The Bount could have sworn the back of his legs grew itchy as he remembered that night. Brown eyes blinked as they lowered from their straightforward gaze upon hearing Kaen apologize. Listening to his voice, feeling his reiatsu, and simply feeling the emotions of the man next to him thanks to Luke’s oddly empathetic sensitivity, it was almost like Kaen was an entirely new man. Luke had to wonder if this was how Kaen really was, or if the man who had seen a Bount amongst dead Shinigami was the real one. Regardless, what the fuck was the point dwelling on that?

”Just fuck already.”

”If Soul Societies getting involved in this I’m guessing it’s a bit more than just a missing persons case.” Luke replied to Kaen adding sarcastic emphasis to some of his words, not seeing any reason to comment on his apology. Luke was sore as hell he lost that night, yeah, but it was obvious that Kaen was disappointed or even humiliated by how he acted that night. Luke was the kind of guy that chose to let things rest and move on. He’d done it with Timor and Yoko before, the latter of whom had said things to him that would forever stick with him like knives in his back. He prefered to move on.

”U.E. also got word about it. Guessing the only tip you guys got was Port Royal and Seba, huh?” Luke asked, finally turning his head to face Kaen.

[July Kasumi'Oji]

July’s lips had almost, almost formed a pout when the guy beside him had simply ignored him and instead focussed his attention on Kaen-kun. But it was the realisation that Kaen and Ranth had appeared was what snapped him out of his reprieve. They had arrived! Finally! He had waited, oh, about 30 seconds and they hadn’t shown up, so he had gone on ahead (admittedly, he was about half an hour earlier than the agreed departure time, but “be prepared” was his motto - and they should have been prepared too). Should he interact with them now? Or were they all still in covert mode? It was hardly necessary to be in covert mode though - the Bount next to him was already asking for the same person they were looking for, and had already noticed that Kaen, Ranth and July were all in the room. So much unnecessary fidgeting that gave so much away, a lesson in being covert would be required for the Bount~

“On me!”

The sound of money being slammed on the table, the reluctant grunt of the bartender as he pushed the lemon-y, sugar-y, July-y drink across the bar to him. Who was the Captain’s mysterious saviour? Who had rescued him in his hour of need? A ‘pretty brunette girl’. Those were the exact words that popped into July’s head. He looked to her as a puppy might look to its owner - eyes wide and baleful, full of thanks and promise. ”Ma’am, you have saved me~” His voice would appear entirely genuine. But the small smile on his face would give away the joke, even to her. She glanced back at her friends, all similarly dressed, looking for… approval? Validation? Reward? Who knew? Who cared? July had a free drink. He swung back to the bartender, a triumphant smile on his face.

”Could I get a straw too, please?~”

Perhaps the bars did not stock straws in Port Royal, perhaps they did. It didn’t really matter, though. What this was was a declaration of victory. A triumph in every sense of the word. The bartender did not want to serve July, July wanted a drink. Now the bartender had served July his drink. July had won, the bar had lost. The straw would be the flag he planted in conquered land, so to speak. But enough wallowing in his victory for now, there was a ‘pretty brunette girl’ who was trying to make herself as interesting as possible to him. She deserved something - she had bought him a drink after all.

”Soso, ma’am, can I get a name for the woman who saved me?” July’s voice was sing-song, and was as pure as the slight British accent he was affecting. An innocent enquiry after information, that’s all it was. Once she had answered, he had a small follow-up question. ”What is there for a man like me to do in a place like this?” The ‘innocent tourist’ card had been played. Response? He could hear the gaggle of girls at the other table giggling and chatting. Perhaps it was about their friend and him, or perhaps it was about something else - who knew? People’s conversation topics were often as fickle as the people themselves.

Seba is the man we’re looking for, July… But there was no need to bring that up just yet, was there? The bartender had shut down the Bount at the counter quite quickly about that line of conversation. Whoever this ‘Seba’ person was, it was not someone the people here wanted to be publicly associated with. And what kind of scoundrel could one hope to find in Port Royal?! July almost clapped in excitement. If Seba wasn’t an honest-to-god pirate of the Caribbean he was going to be very disappointed.

[Ranth]

Ranth didn't know July from a bar of soap without given that they had never met, nor had he ever had a death match with Luke, so he didn't recognise the Bount like Kaen had and with his literal 0 in ES, despite the fact that he was standing within 10 feet of a Captain and a powerful vampire, Ranth literally had no idea because that was just how the universe worked. Thus, to his eyes Kaen was simply slacking off and getting a little too into his character. Ranth sure did seem to have a habit of picking up 'interesting' friends.

Still, Ranth was used to being surrounded by irresponsible individuals who left the majority of the actual work to him, so he supposed all he could do was look around for signs of a lead. It seemed obvious that Kaen didn't plan on going anywhere any time soon, so Ranth quickly forgot about him as he scanned the rest of the room. A group of girls were shouting drinks to everyone in the bar, which was convenient because it meant Ranth was able to simply pick up one of the free drinks and carry it to the back of the room where he'd spotted an old man sitting alone in the corner.

"Evening friend, I believe this is for you", Ranth said to the man as he placed the large pint of ale on the table in front of the man. As luck would have it, the drink that had been provided courtesy of the girls with a little too much spare cash was the exact same one that the old man had just finished as Ranth sat down across the table from him. "You look like a man who might know a thing or two. I'm looking for someone named Seba, you ever hear that name?"

It was a long shot, Ranth knew that going into the conversation, but what did he have to lose? Kaen was busy slacking off, July was god only knew where and their only way forwards was to hop from bar to bar in an attempt to track down someone based on a name that could have been a nickname or an alias or just an elaborate prank to waste the time of 3 shinigami (and one Bount, not that Ranth was aware of such a thing just yet). "So how about it friend? Ever heard of someone named Seba? Or perhaps you might know someone who does...".

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen could see Luke recognized him. At least he hadn't jumped up and run, or drawn out his weapons. Though in the present company that was probably a bad idea anyways if he wanted to avoid causing a scene. Rather than dwell on the awkward discussion, Luke jumped straight to business, and Kaen's eyebrows (well, eyebrow anyways, eyepatches yo) raised in answer. "So that's why you're in Port Royal, land of the pirates and privateers huh?" He asked. "U.E. also got word about it. Guessing the only tip you guys got was Port Royal and Seba, huh?
"Ooohhhh.... you're one of Kazura's people. Gotcha. Always thought U.E. had the right idea. ....Ouff, talk about bad first impressions then." Kaen noted aloud. "Long story short, yes, we got the same message. Didn't know people outside Soul Society got one. Is it just you, or did you bring backup yourself?" He inquired. "In the interest of being fair here, there's another Shinigami here with me, and a Captain on his way." A Captain.... One of the highest ranking officers in Soul Society. Kaen had identified himself as a Vice Captain during his battle with Luke. Which means that, by the layman's estimation, a Captain would be even stronger than Kaen! Geeze. But that could wait until later. "Either way, I'll speak up for you if there's trouble. Least I can do." He added.

His drink was slammed down in front of him, and Kaen grinned, taking the drink and knocking some of it back. Kaen didn't drink a ton, but rum wasn't the strongest of stuff, and he wasn't a 100% lightweight. "Oh, hey, that's good stuff." He noted, placing it back, before addressing Luke again. "Well it seems you beat us here. Have you found anything?" He asked, taking a moment to really scan around the room, and check on Ranth's progress. It looked like the other Shinigami had made a friend too! Perfect. Kaen assumed if Ranth figured anything out he'd come and get the third seat. Allowing Kaen to focus in on the discussion in question. "Interesting this though. Why Uzaki Enterprises? Or maybe it's the reverse for you. Why Soul Society? One or the other, yeah whatever, but if we're both called out... Any ideas why?" Kaen asked Luke, half musing out loud. "It's not like our organizations are close allies or anything, you know?" Peculiar circumstances. Kaen was still waiting on hearing if any others from Uzaki Enterprises were around, and he expanded his scan. Kaen had pretty good skill at analysis. He could pick a room apart with his eyes, and was trying to take note of anyone acting unusual. Focusing in on Luke or anything like that. "But yeah, basically the same information. Amazingly vague. We figured we'd just hit a few bars for information as a starting point." Kaen informed Luke.

[Deleted]

[[ooc: this post is slightly shit. sorry]]

At July’s words, the girl beamed excitedly. Giggling as well at his joke. The Bartender stared long and hard at the flamboyant captain before relenting and giving in to his demands. The girl seemed to frown at his attitude. “He’s never this grumpy.” she muttered to herself, looking on at the bartender concerned. She’d watch him retrieve the straw from some unknown place and walk back. He’d slap the straw down on the table in front of July’s drink fairly hard, causing the rest of the table to rumble. The girl seemed to be somewhat stunned but then shrugged. This girl was a local without a doubt.

Just before she could go away, walking off triumphantly to her friends, she’d hear July pipe up and turn to him. “My name is Gabriella!” she said eagerly. She smiled at him, putting her hand forward for a handshake if he cared to shake it. “What’s your name? Is this your first time at Port Royal?” She’d slowly walk, somewhat ushering him towards her table with her friends where she’d sit and return to her drink. All of them awaiting the chance to talk to his fancy brit who asked for a straw. Talk about interesting! They talked amongst themselves for a moment and in unison, some of the girls said “Paradiso!” Gabriella would turn to July. “Paradiso is one of the best clubs here. Very upscale! They have the best everything! We’re all headed there later!” She grinned. “It’s not far from here at all. It’s about a ten minute walk down thataway~!” Gabriella pointed south.

“Wait, we’re going to Paradiso?”

Another girl piped up, she looked like she was somewhat cringing and wore an expression of some worry. She looked around to see if people were looking and leaned a bit closer to July. “I hear really shady stuff about that place. The owner especially. People say he has control over lots of stuff on the island ” She sat back in her seat, taking another sip of her own drink before continuing out loud. “But it’s still a fun place! Just keep to yourself and don’t piss him off. Cor—… Oh.” Gabriella shot the other girl a look which clearly read that she shouldn’t have said anything period and to shut up. “Anyways! Uh.. Be safe! Have fun at Paradiso!”

On Ranth’s end, the old drunkard’s features lit up at the sight of the large pint and gave him a toothy smile. All 7 of his teeth were very happy to see the shinigami and the drink and the old drunken man merely nodded giving him a silent thank you. The man would happily help himself all while listening to Ranth’s questions. Once Seba was mentioned, he scoffed. “Seba..” He finally looked at Ranth and slouched back in his seat, looking out the window watching a few children casually walking away with bike parts in their hands. “That fucker still owes me money but I can’t stay mad at ‘im!” he laughed aloud before taking a sip.

That name triggered certain memories. Ones that would make him chuckle at first and then he’d shake his head disappointed and sighed. “I’ve know ‘im since I was little y’see. Seba and his friend… Those two were balls of energy runnin’ up and down Port Royal doin’ all kinds of crazy shit!” He slammed his hand on the table and laughed as memories came rushing back to him. “That idiot still does. Without a care in the world causin’ a ruckus in every bar and club! He used to do it with his little friend too! Don’t see much of that one anymore though..“ Sips turned into gulps and he’d stare out of the window, watching many children walk off into parts unknown with a bike part on hand. It was long gone now. “They were always there for me. He’s got a good heart… just does a lot of stupid, reckless shit.” The sun was already setting and more people were out and about, deciding which bar or club to go into. “I guarantee ya, he’s doing that right now. In one of these bars or clubs at least. You’ll definitely find him.” He leaned up on the window still, finishing off his ale and shook his glass at Ranth. “If ya see him, could ya tell him I said hi? Tell him Bill says hi and that even though he still owes me my fuckin’ money, it ain’t no reason to not visit me like he used to!”

---

Talk of Soul Society and Shinigami from Kaen and Uzaki Enterprises from Luke would not go unnoticed. The pair would carry on having their conversation but as they did, they could pick up on the bartender paying some attention to their conversation. At times he looked like he would say something but decided not to say anything at all. He might have a piece of information. Who knows?! Occasionally, he’d look at the door in between passing off drinks to clients and but kept to himself.

[Deleted]

Where's my post, Rin?

Part of Luke wished that he wasn’t on the job. Had he been here on his freetime instead of being a representative of Uzaki Enterprises and looking into a missing persons case then he would have been much more talkative with Kaen. Unfortunately for the, very friendly, Shinigami he was seeing Luke when the Bount was at work. Speaking of work though, Luke noted that Kaen seemed to know who Kazura was. The Bount blinked, averting his gaze from Kaen as the Shinigami asked him if he was the only one here or if he had back up. ”Just me. No one else could be spared from their other work.” Luke replied, knowing how busy the others in UE were right now. With everything that had been going on around the world lately, it still surprised him that Kazura could afford to let him go on a mission like this.

Luke was surprised that Kaen would admit that he came with backup, but it just meant that his earlier anxiety was misplaced. The Shinigami didn’t come to kill the evil Bount. They were here for the same reason he was. Luke didn’t tell Kaen that he had already sensed the Shinigami. Even if they had been suppressing their reiatsu, Luke was still more than capable of sensing them. While, normally, you’d have needed more Energy Sensing potential than Luke currently did he was able to work around that by being trained in Anti-Stealth tactics. Though, that being said, how often did he ever bump into someone that snuck around anymore?

”How do you know they’re not trying to sneak around when you bump into them? Dun dun duuuunnn…”

”Thanks, but, I’d prefer it if you didn’t go out of your way to get yourself in trouble for my sake.” Luke commented in reply to Kaen’s assurance that he’d put in a good word for Luke. The man wasn’t ignorant. He knew how Soul Society viewed what he was. While the Shinigami he had met never reacted too terribly, cept for once, Luke wasn’t going to take the chance. ”Still not sure if this is the same man I fought or someone wearing his skin..” Luke heard Windstarke comment in the back of his head. Luke just smirked a little, listening to Kaen talk and ask questions. Luke didn’t answer the question regarding what he knew, instead listening to Kaen talk about how come Soul Society and Uzaki Enterprises had gotten involved in all this.

”I don’t know myself. But there is something I do know.” Luke replied when the Shinigami he shared the bar with finally stopped talking. ”For about a year I lived in a club after my apartment got destroyed somehow. I’d spend time at the bar and something I’ve picked up on from all those hours...is how to tell when someone has something to say.” Luke would suddenly say, his gaze then immediately locking onto the bartender. Well, in truth, Luke had been paying a bit of attention. Partly it was thanks to Anti-Stealth that let Luke notice those little details, but part of why he hadn’t been replying too much to Kaen was because Luke had been paying attention to everything going on around them.

His animal like hearing had heard the conversation between Ranth and the homeless man, picking up when he had heard the name Seba. But, more importantly, was that the bartender had started acting a little fidgety when Luke and Kaen had started their conversation. In truth the two could learn a thing or two about being covert, but looks like it had worked. ”You messed my drink up, Mister. I just wanted a normal ice tea...not a long island.” Luke commented, leaning forward on one arm as his brown eyes gazed sharply at the bartender. ”And while we’re at it why don’t you go ahead and tell us what you want to say.” Luke stated, in a serious tone, as he waited for the mans answer. What the bartender didn’t know, unfortunately, was that even if he refused Luke could get the answers out of him. The Bount didn’t want things to come to that, but, if it meant potentially saving a life he’d go that far.

[July Kasumi'Oji]

”Paradiso?~”

July’s eyes lit up, sparkling at the promise of paradise. What would be? They were the best at everything? How truly wonderful! Perhaps he would find his perfect opponent, perhaps he would play the perfect game! Perhaps she had meant it as hyperbole - but it was too late now! July had two major faults: he was just too gosh darn nice, and he had a propensity for an overactive imagination. Oh, and he had a tendency to discard callously those who disappointed him in some way. That was three, probably. Though, there was nothing usually wrong with an overactive imagination. Except it often fuelled the third flaw. Oh well, he was sure that Gabriella would do just wonderfully.

”My dear, my dear~ I cannot wait.”

July took her hands in his own, looking deep into her eyes with his sparkling emerald ones. They glinted playfully in the light, a sparkling promise of fun, games and sparkling adventure. His golden hair was sparkling as he nodded enthusiastically, if this situation had been even more cartoonish he would have left a sparkling trail as he had walked. Sparkling was the word of the hour, the day, the week, the month, the year. Port Royal was the Sparkling Capital of the world, and July and his contingent of Shinigami and assorted other collectibles would be the sparkling centre of the sparkling apocalypse!

”You really shouldn’t trail off your sentences so ominously, my dear~ It gives everyone quite the fright.”

July called attention to the ‘hint’, playfully though. It seemed like Paradiso, regardless of its status as a Utopia, would be the correct direction in which to travel. He accompanied his reprimand with a wink, however - while coldly ignoring the girl who had implied that her friend had “said too much”. He didn’t need those kinds of people in his life. But what he did need was the wonderful Gabriella and her more talkative friends. What luck, then, that he had the perfect chaperones lined up! July clapped his hands neatly - a perfect stage clap, the kind that would pause everything in the bar for a moment. There was no way Ranth and Kaen would miss this. Even if they had completely blanked him when they entered the bar.

”Well then, miss Gabriella, you wouldn’t mind if I dragged my friends along too?”

Kaen and Ranth were not unattractive, quite the opposite in fact - how fortunate for them! Of course, July had a small bit more faith in Gabriella’s crew than believing that they would just latch on to a pretty face - he was clearly the exception rather than the rule - so perhaps he would have to have them demonstrate something? A feat of strength? A modicum of intellect? The ability to hold an uncommon amount of beer? Just what were people into these days? Or maybe they’d be boring and wouldn’t play along. Suuuurely not, though. Surely not.

”Kaen and Ranth are quite the duo. I’m sure you’d love them.”

July’s puppy dog eyes were for the girls. The name drops were for the two clueless Shinigami who could apparently walk into a bar and not recognise a Captain of the Gotei 13 sparkling in their face. And maybe for the Bount too. He seemed like he needed something to do. That motorbike wouldn’t reassemble itself, after all.

[Ranth]

Ranth could scarcely believe his luck as the old man not only seemed to recognise the name 'Seba', but actually went on to speak candidly about him as well. So Ranth listened intently to the old man and as he did so, a mental image of Seba began to form. Although the man seemed to describe Seba as someone that the old man had known when he himself had been little, but at the same time described him as someone who seemed youthful and energetic. Was it just the alcohol causing the man to become confused, or was there more to the man's words than meets the eye?

Ultimately, although Ranth hadn't got anything so concrete as an address for the man that they'd been sent to find it was still a pretty good start for less than 10 minutes work. They'd been sent to find a needle in a haystack and Ranth had basically managed to stumble across it already. However, even if the old man didn't know where Seba was now or where he could be found, there was certainly at least one thing that the old man could tell him- something that would be incredibly valuable to someone who wouldn't know the man from a bar of soap if he tripped over him in the street.

"If I could trouble you with one last question... could you tell me what Seba looks like?" Ranth asked, leaning in intently as he did so. "I was asked to find him by a mutual friend who thought he might need help, but I've never met Seba personally and if he's in trouble I can't afford to be running around blindly. Any information you can give me to help me recognise him could save his life sir" It was an earnest request, even if he'd distorted the truth just a little bit around his reason for being here.

It was at this moment that Ranth heard his name spoken over the general murmur of the room's occupants and he turned almost isntinctively to see Kaen huddling almost conspiratorially with the leather clad biker at the bar, whilst a blonde haired man was conversing with a group of fairly attractive human women and gesturing towards not only Kaen, but also to Ranth and his jaw nearly hit the floor. Captain Kasumi'Oji!? Coincidences were starting to stack up so fast that he felt like he was navigating through the last level of tetris. Who else would they run into here at this bar? An Espada? The entire Vandenreich? Why not the Soul King? Still, at least now he knew he didn't have to go searching for two missing persons any more.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen and Luke continued to trade comments. At Luke's comment about no back up, Kaen gave a shrug. "Then maybe you should join up with us. I've fought you, you're not bad in a fight at all. I can count the number of people who've forced me to go all-out on one hand. And my skill's not quite what it was since I got demoted." He informed Luke. "And if you're worried about me going to any trouble, don't be. It'll be fine. The rest of the team is from different divisions, so I don't have to directly interact with them if they don't like that call. 'Sides, like I said, you're a good arm in a fight if it comes right down to it." He added. And Kaen also wanted to make proper amends for last time, where he'd attacked on gut instinct, instead of at least asking for Luke's version of events.

And then Luke made comment about someone having something to say, and Kaen smiled in answer. Kaen had already taken notice of the attention their conversation was attracting from the bartender. Kaen smiled at Luke's comment to the bartender, while he drank. He then set his drink down and chimed in-- "If you're trying to eavesdrop sir, you're not being subtle about it. Do you have something to add to our conversation?" Aha! Kaen knew that talking openly about Soul Society would lead them in the right direction. To normal people it'd sound like some video game nonsense or something from a movie or whatever. Only people in the know would really react to it. And normal humans with knowledge of Soul Society was a boon. It meant they probably had some inkling of what was going on. Seems that they'd found a clue in their first bar already! But not a moment after that, a clap was heard throughout the room, and Kaen looked over his shoulder to the gentleman who had clapped his hands. Sharp looking guy, to be sure. Looked familiar. Could that be-- And then he heard July namedrop. "Well. That's my ride. Do you want to come along? I'll handle the introductions." Kaen offered Luke. He downed the rest of his drink and threw some money down on the counter, as he slid off his bar stool, and walked toward July. "Was wondering where you were going to show up." He commented to the Captain. "You missed the meeting place." He looked at the two women near July. "Not that I blame you. I see you had a very good reason. Hello ladies." Kaen gave an incline of the head toward them.