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

[Deleted]

Siren’s Cove

Seba nodded along as Luke spoke. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I can tell! Hahaha~!” He grinned, pointing out the other Bount’s face. Though, Seba himself was fairly perplexed. He had someone in mind. Someone his friend did tell him about in great detail. Though, Seba was sure that Luke wasn’t it. Still, he shrugged happily as this bount merely looked at it as a happy accident. For him, it was always a pleasure to interact with another Bount. Unusual but still a very welcome treat!

There was one confusing thing Luke did say and Seba leaned just a smidge closer, propping his forearms up on the table. “I’m sorry but… What is a Uzaki Enterprises my friend~?” Of course it was a ridiculous question seeing as Seba was the one that sent for help but you know. “I did drink a lot that night I sent the message out..” He leaned back, staring into the ceiling for a moment as he tried to recall the events of that night, scratching his chin. He was certain many strange things were involved and in his drunken stupor, remembered to send a message to “Xcution”. Heh. “Ah, what the hell! Who cares!? I’m glad you’re here and I get to meet my brother~! Luke, yes?” he grinned happily. “Do they talk in your head constantly too? Mine never shut up! I told them I met another bount and one of them said ‘pics or it didn’t happen’. Can you believe them?! Crazy I tell you!”

“Happy to meet the both of you! Ranth and Kaen! Squad.. 7?” Seba had an “oh shit” face as he looked at Kaen for a while. The kind of face you make when you know you fucked up something stupid before laughing and waving whatever it is off. “Ah! It’ll be fine! I like your outfit! Very fitting. Heh.” He pointed, winking and grinning. “Oh ya! I’m surprised about that one too. I probably fucked up more than once.. but who cares! I have you! Now for those questions Luke asked..” He calmed down considerably after introductions and looked at everyone seriously.

“My friend is “”EVERYONE HAVING A GOOD NIGHT~!?”

The DJ practically screamed over the mic just as Seba was speaking animatedly, constantly waving his hands. Large, glittering chunks of confetti rained down from the ceiling and at points it would be extremely difficult to even make out what Seba was saying. Even from his lips it was unclear. Those looking intently could make out a name that at least started with an ‘A’ but nothing further than that. Still, the bount continued to speak and only bits and pieces of what he said could be heard as the DJ made a few announcements and prattled on about nothing important for a while.

“You know””SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM”

“.. tends to disappear every now and then but always comes back to Port Royal on a very specific day. A—””,EVERY GIRL WORKING IN SIREN’S COVE RIGHT NOW,”“Bill’s birthday. We never miss it.” He looked to Ranth who mentioned Bill, saddened before shooting a pointed look at the DJ who was quiet for the moment and started to speak.

“AND EVERYONE THAT CAME OUT TONIGHT”“—missed it for the last 4 years.”

As Seba spoke, he looked more and more distressed, both at the DJ and at recounting the events, shaking his head. “You guys want anything? It’s on me.” He offered. He raised a hand up, signaling a waitress over and holding a drinks menu up which just covered his lips. “Who are they? They are my Captain of course~! They’re a —””IT’S ALSO SOMEONE’S BIRTHDAY TONIGHT” Seba sighed, putting the menu down and grinned at them. “That alone should be pretty important to you lot haha~! Especially since—“ “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” This whole experience would probably something like Jäger screaming in Luke’s head… Only in real life and everyone could hear it. “Especially since””BIRTHDAY GIRL. I BET YOUR ASS SMELLS LIKE FINE DINING” “one of the most powerful individuals around” Seba shook his head and brushed any confetti off his head and looked in the DJ’s direction with great annoyance and groaned frustratedly. “Shuuuuut up..”

It finally occurred to him that he should try to speak up louder and raised his voice. “My captain had someone special but I don’t know what happened to them. I tried reaching out. I’ve tried everything on my end. I’ve gotten preeeetty close. This situation kinda forces me to call in reinforcements so..” He gestured to everyone at the table. “I called in people that were special t— “”I’M SORRY. I’M DONE. I SWEAR.” “..At least I tried to come as close as possible. It’s been a long time. I’m really sorry about that.” He said apologetically as he scratched the back of his head, grinning nervously.

“Enemies?” He laughed guiltily. Just the look on his face spelled out that he had quite a few. “Oh my friend.” he laughed somewhat, patting Luke on the back. “There is a line. Mostly for my Captain.. but, you know it comes with the territory!” He shrugged and sat back in his chair, thinking. “However, I do know it has lots to do with Paradiso. The owner of it at least. He kinda maybe definitely wants me dead for my associating with my Captain and meddling in his business… and he kinda also has something important hiding away there but I can’t get in. Siren’s Cove is really the only place I’m safe at.”

[Deleted]

Paradiso

“Where did you study for that one? Hogwarts? Did you fly on brooms too? Ahaha!” smiled at July before finally opening the door. She looked to either side of her and quickly made her way in and holding the door open for July before carefully closing it. The room was mostly dark aside from a small, tinted window where one could see the comings and goings of the club. A desk, a bookcase with various ornaments of skulls and ships on it with small inscriptions on it. If July looked outside he could see far down the block was Siren’s Cove in the opposite way he came.

Emily used the flashlight on her phone and started searching the desk that sat in the middle of the room. “Salazar is an evil man. Seriously. You better hope he doesn’t talk to you.” She hastily searched his desk. She flipped through documents but whatever was there was of no importance. It wasn’t what Emily was looking for. She then got to work on his drawers. She tried pulling on them only to find they were lock and kneeled on the floor and fished out whatever she could to help aid her in picking locks out of her purse.

She couldn’t help but feel entirely nervous through the whole ordeal. It was as if she’d never done anything like this before. Like she never went through someone’s belongings like this. That coupled with the fact that she knew in great detail who Salazar was made her somewhat fearful. “He’ll.. He’ll takes stuff from you and kill off the rest. If he wants something, he has to have it. You either give it up and die quick or protest and die slow.” She spoke softly as she attempted the lock on the first drawer.

July would immediately feel as though something was off in this room. Something different. Something slightly familiar even. It was an extremely faint trace of reiatsu. But where? If he searched, he’d feel it coming from a cabinet below a bookcase. If opened, he’d find a locked safe that could be removed. This safe had a keypad where you could enter a four digit code. Whatever was inside was the cause of the feeling. He could try his chances with this!

“..Where is it?”

Emily whispered as she searched as frantically as one could whilst sneaking around. There were papers strewn about on the desk and she was going through each of them as thoroughly as she could. “My grandpa had a property not too far off from here. Just a small grocery store.” She begun, sighing frustratedly as she looked through papers. “Salazar wanted it. Kept saying the location was perfect. Wouldn’t leave him alone about it either. My grandpa said no over and over. He wouldn’t give it up no matter what.” She knelt down, trying drawers on the desk. “A month later, my grandfather is dead. Not of natural causes.” She looked to July with a pained look briefly before trying the drawers that could open. She was looking for anything that could aid her in trying to bring him to justice. “I know he did. I know he’s behind it.”

[Deleted]

Luke had to keep himself from smirking, actually smirking, in relatable entertainment when Seba’s mentioned something about his Dolls constantly talking in his head. It was something Luke could, begrudgingly, relate to. ”Bitch ass fool ain’t got no Jäger-bomb-bastic in his head, shit.” Luke decided to just ignore that. Life tended to be so much better when you ignored the shadow monster that was living inside your head. ”I’ll ram my goddamn dick through your eye for not referring to me as Lord Final Shadow Nemesis.” See? It was just so much better to ignore him. Moving on, however, Seba’s finally decided to answer the questions that Luke had presented him. At least...he seemed to give it a try.

Luke realized that maybe, just maybe, fate was having a goof with him. Everytime Seba’s said something that was critically important that annoying fucking DJ would interrupt him with some vocal diarrhea. Luke had half a mind to let Jäger go show that asshole with a microphone what real shitspewing was. Calming down and focusing on the situation. All Luke got from the way his mouth moved was a name that started with an A. That didn’t mean anything to him right now. Then there was something about how they always met up for a Bills birthday. Was that the same Bill as the one at the bar? But when Sebas mentioned that this mysterious person had missed Bills birthday for four years, Luke nearly fell into his seat.

”Did he just say-”

”FOUR fucking years?! Like, one, dos, tres, four?!”

Luke might have needed a drink. Finding a missing person was already a hard as hell case to crack. The chances of that person being gone, forever, went up every day. But four years? Four years?? Seba’s was...he was asking for a miracle if he wanted this person found. Luke looked down at the table, mouth agape from disbelief, before he sighed and continued to listen. Seba’s mentioned Paradiso and how the owner of that club might have had something to do with this or might know something. Luke, frowning, looked at Kaen and Ranth for a moment before finally opening his mouth. ”Your friend...has been missing for four years. That’s what I’m gathering here. Four years.” Luke was still a bit in disbelief about that.

Luke didn’t comment about any of the things he didn’t hear. He wasn’t going to try asking about that until they were outside or something. Taking a deep breath and looking at the table, his mind began to work as he thought about his next course of action. Four years. He was still stuck on that. He was frustrated about that. Actually, he was so frustrated in fact he just decided to say something about it. ”Your friend’s been missing for four, damn, years and you’re only now doing something about it?” Professionalism went out the window right there, but Luke didn’t care. What sort of friend did Seba’s think he was.

The only lead Luke got out of this now was a name. Paradiso. Without warning, or giving much of a damn about what any of the other three said, Luke was back on his feet. ”You just stay here.” He told Seba’s with obvious annoyance in his voice, but said out of a desire to see the other Bount remain safe. Even if this was going to be a cold trail, he wasn’t going to give up. Someone’s life was in danger if it wasn’t already over. ”Hahahahaha. I know how you are when you get like this.” Jäger giggled in excitement, practically bouncing up in down in Luke’s head. Windstärke sighed, ”We’re about to go make some enemies now, aren’t we?”.

Yup.

Find Paradiso, find the Manager, and find out everything he knew without some annoying ass DJ screaming shit every five seconds.

[Deleted]

OOC: July is skipped. Ranth is up next.

[Ranth]

Over the sound of the necessarily loud music it was already hard enough to hold any kind of conversation, but to make matters worse the DJ started giving commentary over the top of the music that was already blasting over the top of everyone else shouted attempts at conversation which basically equaled a cacophony of noise that made Ranth want to request a pair of noise cancelling headphones in an effort to ease the headache that was building between his ears. As a result, Ranth barely caught any of what Sebas was telling them and instead had to resort to trying to judge his words based on the expressions of the other people at the table.

Doing so led proved to be an interesting exercise, as Luke seemed to get quite disgruntled quite early on and his face seemed to grow progressively more red- or maybe that was just the red disco strobe light- and then he was rising to his feet and Ranth finally caught one word distinctly from among the noise that made pretty much everything else said unintelligible or unreliable until he conferred with Kaen in a more conversation friendly environment. Paradisio. From what Ranth thought he knew- and he was almost certain he was mistaken- Sebas had lost his burrito at 4am and it had special sauce and he needed help to find it. At the very least, Ranth was confident that the word 'four' had been mentioned and something had been 'lost', but other than that... he was just a guest.

Wait a minute... Paradisio... why did that sound so fami- oh... ohhhhhhhh. That was where July had gone when they split up at the Port Royal. Ranth and kaen had come here whilst July had gone to the other club... with the group of women... to look for clues. Yes, clues. Definitely, that was why July had gone there. Thinking back to when they'd gone their separate ways, Ranth remembered July's group going off to the right whilst Ranth and Kaen had gone left to arrive here. So if they retraced their steps and went right from Port Royal... odds were that they'd find this Paradiso and their wayward Captain without too much trouble. Port Royal wasn't a very large place in the grand scheme of things after all.

"Our third member actually went to Paradisio, he should be there right now in fact", Ranth said to Luke who he realised may have been the sort to go running off looking for their new goal only to remember too late that he didn't know where the heck he was going. "I don't know the address, but based on the direction he went when we split up, it's at the other side of town and since every club in this place has a sign bright enough to be seen from space, it shouldn't be hard to find if we retrace our steps from the Port Royal lounge", he suggested amiably.

[July Kasumi'Oji]

”I don’t need a broom to fly, Emily dear~”

July laughed at his own joke. He had speed and acrobatic prowess that almost certainly outstripped anyone in this room - and also access to airground. If anyone could claim that flying unassisted was possible for them - it was him. But of course, Emily could take it as an innuendo or a drug reference or something. How base. Or, given that she was tied up in all of this, she might too possess the imagination to have an inkling of the correct answer. That would be quite the creative surprise. July would be so proud of the little girl. She deserved two claps for July having the thought that she might even surprise him. Just two.

Clap-clap

July followed Emily into the room, once he was certain that the coast was completely clear and that no-one would sneak up on them while he nosed around the fearsome Salazar’s chamber of secrets. And almost at once he could hear alarm bells ring. Not actual ones, of course, but rather his own. Not that they we were really alarm bells - that implied a sense of urgency that July only assumed when playing Settlers of Catan - but rather a jaunty jingle of bells. Like the tune that plays when you discover a side quest. It seemed as though neither Emily nor Salazar were totally removed from the world of the non-living at all!

July bent down to the safe, barely listening to Emily’s ramblings. Yadda-yadda You either give it up and die quick or protest and die slow yadda yadda. Sounded quite like July, if one were being unflattering. Oh well, he could not control how everyone perceived him. He could try his damnedest, though. Hard work would always be rewarded, right? Right? This wasn’t Snakes and Ladders, right? There was a bit more going on than just blind luck. He wasn’t about to step on a snake? Eeeergh. That sounded painful. For the snake.

July spared a moment to examine the safe, as soon as he was certain that no-one would interrupt them for a little while. He looked at the keypad, trying to discern which of the keys had been used most frequently - if numbers were worn or if oil deposits had rubbed off on particular numbers. Of course, a 4-digit code was not the most secure thing in the world, so perhaps Salazar had the foresight to change the code ever so often - or at least July hoped so, given Emily’s flattering impression of him - but even that would be a trivial obstacle to overcome. For this safe appeared to be mechanical, and where there were moving parts July was in.

Of course, before he paid heed to that he should at least acknowledge poor Emily’s quest for justice. How wonderfully noble of her. But unfortunately, July would have to rescind his two claps. She turned out to be as straightforward as he had feared. A good girl who had fallen victim to a traumatic incident, crossed the wrong people, stepped on the wrong snakes, and here she was again - trying to climb back up the ladder. Practically scrabbling up it. There was something cute about it, he supposed, but barely anything worth being impressed with. And she had been so good at misleading him about this earlier. Perhaps she deserved one clap back, just for that.

Clap

”How driven of you, Emily. I am moved by your determination to see justice meted out. Truly, truly. But perhaps the miraculously incriminating evidence is inside this safe, eh? Any suggestions for a code - or shall I try crack it myself?”

July slipped a hand into his coat’s inside pocket. He was not above using his Shikai for such ‘trivial’ tasks - he didn’t have that self-serving pride of the other Captains, pah! - but perhaps he could make better use of the resources he had first. No harm in asking, anyway. Perhaps Emily had seen Salazar key in 4-digit codes all her life. Perhaps he said the code as he killed her grandfather, thinking that little Emily had not been around to here. Perhaps he had a famous tattoo of 4 digits on his knuckles, though July had to admit if that were the case and Emily thought it was the code to this safe, he would be very disappointed. And if that did turn out to be the code to the safe, well July would probably have to call off the mission. Soul Society could not afford to dignify such stupidity with a response.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen's grin grew as he saw Seb's reaction to hearing he was from Squad 7. "Ah, somethin' the matter mate? You look like you've met with my division before? Nothin' to hide have ya?" He asked. Of course, he was right to fear. After all. Squad 7 was the strongest squad in Soul Society! Even when the Empress hadn't been in the squad, Kaen had proven to be one of the most dangerous Vice Captains in Soul Society-- enough, apparently, that his name had ended up on the Bingo book of the Black Market, which he'd picked up from a handful of blokes that had assaulted him during one of his excursion to the Human World. Tough shit for them, they hadn't taken the "Do not engage at close range" very seriously, and had learned why his profile recommended such cautionary measures. But now he was a lowly third seat. And with good reason. The rightful heir to Squad 7 had returned to her throne, and Kaen already knew he had no place holding it from Rin. Besides. With the Empress and Himitsu at the helm? It was wise to fear the name of Soul Society's Seventh Division. Kaen leaned in though. "So how've you heard of us, and why so nervous~?" He said with a friendly smile. Friendly like a warm campfire. Warm and inviting. Kaen was pretty good when it came to playing the good cop routine. Of course, having worked alongside the Empress.... he'd picked up a few tricks on being the bad cop too.

Now came the annoying part. Where the DJ seemed to talk over every word that was said. Kaen put his eyes and Analysis skills to the test, focusing in on Seb. His friend was.... what? Hmmm. Name starting with an "A", and probably about four syllables long. Kaen gathered as much as he could despite the annoying DJ, but by the end he found himself face palming. Okay, so missing about four years, missing "Bill's" birthday. Oh-- it was Seb's Captain? Huh. Alright then... And Plenty of people that could have done it. Kaen gave a pointed look at the DJ himself, and sighed. "Alright, fine. Anyways. Starting point?" Kaen noticed a coaster on the table and set his hand next to it. By itself a harmless action. Of course, if the DJ tried to interject again, he'd find Kaen had a mighty strong finger flick-- enough to turn a small coaster into a projectile with knock-out properties on a normal human, and pretty good aim. But hopefully he wouldn't have to demonstrate!

"So to clear things up, you want us to go to Paradiso, and start getting some interrogation done?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow. A smile at the corner of his mouth. Then Kaen laughed. "Well this'll be a blast then! You picked the right guy! Imagine. Needing an investigation and interrogation done, and picking someone from the squad that specializes in that huh? Sounds like a plan Mr. Seb~ I'll be sure to pass on your regards!" He said cheerfully, as if he were being asked to go out on a stroll, instead of walking into territory he might be very much unwanted.

[Deleted]

[[ooc: shit post. don't mind me. ]]

“Wait! Bröther! It’s not like that!” Seba panicked, chasing after Luke and catching his arm, trying to pull him back. It was like a girl trying to pull her angry, ready to fight boyfriend away from someone at the club. Seba wasn’t a shining example of strength but dammit, he was trying so hard! “My Captain is different! They like to disappear from time to time y’know!” He panicked as he clung to the other bount. “I tried!” There was defeat in his voice. Defeat and heartbreak in his voice. The sound of a man who’d truly given it his all and was met with failure each time. His shoulders slumped and he’d let out a sigh of frustration. “You don’t even know what you’re getting yourself into!” He couldn’t possibly let his brother march into danger all by his lonesome just like that!

“Paradiso’s dangerous.” He said, looking to all three of them, shifting nervously. “I know where my captain’s probably being hidden it’s just.. him and getting there.. agh it’s all a huge problem.” Seba scratched the back of his head and looked over to see a few girls working the bar looking at him worriedly. He smiled waving his hand and with reluctance, they went back to work. He’d then pulled the small group over to the entrance just over by the entrance. “The guy that runs Paradiso kinda hates me caaaause uhm. Well! It’s not important. He just really wants to kill me.. Though, he’s got something that’ll make it easier to find my captain. I uh… I kinda need that?” He said slowly, looking at Luke with a pleading look.

Seba wouldn’t waste another moment, he’d open the door and usher Luke and the others out of Siren’s Cove. “I’ll go with you to the club but I don’t know how I’m going to get in. It’s too dangerous for me.” He looked around, clearly nervous. It was the face of a man whose life was in danger. “Howeverrrrr…” When the coast was seemingly clear, he’d speak a little more comfortably. “I could.. I dunno… Watch the back or something?” He started in the direction of Paradiso and made it about 10 steps before hiding behind Kaen, Ranth and Luke, pushing them in front, using them as meat shields for whatever he was frightened of. “There’s some artifact hidden away in the owner’s office and I need that to get to my Captain.” He pushed them along in that direction, taking them there. “It looks like some kind of old, gold coin… I think?” He paused looking up as if trying to remember before looking to Luke smiling and slinging an arm around him. “..Ahh it’ll be fine! Right, brother!?” Such hope inspired by this one.

When the group came up to Paradiso, they'd see two extremely intimidating, imposing bouncers who were just fine with letting females in but quite obviously giving the males a hard time. They'd see Seba start to split off and slip around the side in the alleyway. A group of guys like this might have a difficult time.. Maybe?!

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen enjoyed the show of Seba freaking out, at Luke's departure and leaned forward to watch and hear better in the crowded club. "Your Captain sounds like a very interesting person~ Are they just that slick at slipping away? Or maybe you and your crew are just really bad at noticing things." He teased Seba, still ever cheerful. At the warning about not knowing what they got themselves into however, Kaen stood up from the table. "Well now... I can't take that lying down, can I." He stated, in a slightly calmer tone. "Seba mate, I’ll have you know that not knowing what I’m getting myself into is my specialty~” He said. ”And then coming out on top anyways!” He leaned an elbow on the table and grinned broadly. ”Paradiso may be a hell of a place, but it's no match for us!” He suggested confidently. He couldn't possibly be the third seat of Squad 7 if a warning like that dissuaded him. He glanced down at his chest for a moment, where his badge of office would usually reside. Of course, given Kaen was using a gigai that... that wasn't really applicable here. Either way. The knowledge that it was there, inside the gigai was enough for Kaen. That badge was a symbol, as much as it was a promise. A vow even. A vow never to fail. So he wouldn't here either. The look Kaen gave was only momentary, and then he was back in the game, glancing at his comrades. "So you know where your Captain is? Can't you just take us right there, or do you need something first?" Kaen inquired, as he saw Sebas get up and begin leading us over toward the entrance. Kaen stood up and followed him immediately.

"I don't suppose you can tell us why we can't just get there right away, huh?" He asked, as he tailed Seba. The idea that someone wanted to kill him? A little less bothersome for Kaen, to be entirely honest. "If someone tries to kill us, it'll be fine." He replied. "We'll just have to take them down first, right?" He proposed as he followed along. As Seba explained, things made a little more sense. So whoever ran Paradiso had something to find the Captain. I see. So he probably only has a general idea where his captain is. He needs whatever's in Paradiso to help him out with that, huh? He thought to himself. "So what is it that we're looking for then?" He asked, as he saw Paradiso in the distance. "If you're not going to come in with us, you should at least tell us what we want to find, right?" He insisted. "It's a little difficult to interrogate someone if you don't know what you're interrogating them to find. Especially if I want to avoid name dropping you."

But whether Seba told the group before he left or not, Kaen walked towards the front. An artifact in the owner's office huh? That sent Kaen's mind down several paths. So. Probably in a staff only area then. Gonna be awkward to get in, but as long as they're not openly hostile towards us, that shouldn't actually be impossible." He considered as he paced toward the front of the building. He looked Paradiso over, taking stock of the building. If it was multiple stories, the boss's office was probably on an upper floor. So they'd need to find the stairs too, if that was the case. Kaen was going over all the details, but also looking at his companions on this, Luke and Ranth. "How are you guys feeling with the infiltration then, hey?" He asked. It was time to get right into character with his costume.

Kaen approached the front of Paradiso, and the two bouncers. "Ahoy lads! I be lookin' for a good time here, you know, and heard this is just the place for it!" He exclaimed boisterously. "I don't suppose you can let me on into your fine establishment, eh?" He asked, crossing his arms and looking disproportionately confident, actually already moving as if he was going to walk right past the bouncers.

[Deleted]

The Bount’s head snapped backwards in response to suddenly having his arm tugged on. His eyes locked onto his fellow vampire, giving Seba’s a hard stare as the more lighthearted of the two tried to explain that he didn’t actually give up on his friend. He reasoned that his Captain would disappear from time to time, maybe implying that they were hard to find. He pleaded with Luke that he did try to find his friend. Luke could hear the defeat that was in his voice. ”You’re being too hard on him.” came Windstärke’s voice, though it was said softly to the Bount. ”I get why you’re upset too. Just...calm down and relax. Don’t work yourself up over this.” the Doll pleaded, reading Luke like a book.

He knew that Luke being pissed over Seba’s abandoning his friend was bullshit. It was Luke’s problems with the man being a Bount that was the problem. All it had taken was one spark, no matter how small, to ignite that powder keg. His Dolls knew, at this point, that Luke getting over his own personal racism was going to be difficult...but they were hoping he’d be able to put it aside for right now. “You don’t even know what you’re getting yourself into!” Luke blinked. Was he being doubted? He raised an eyebrow as Seba’s continued to speak. The other Bount revealed that the club was dangerous, and also further revealed that he just might have known where his captain was being kept. But the problem was some mysterious he.

It was revealed a second later that the anonymous he was in fact the owner of Paradiso. Being lead out of the club, Luke looked at Kaen as the Shinigami did most of the talking now. Stepping back out into the hot sun, Luke grumbled to himself a little as he cursed his decision to wear his leather jacket. But, ah well. No use crying over it now. And no, he was not taking it off. It was his favorite. ”Gold coin?” Luke questioned, repeating the brief description as he listened. He had to wonder what the significance of a gold coin could be. ”Maybe it’s a key to a chest? Or a sex dungeon? God I hope it’s that first one..” Jäger joked.

Staring ahead at Paradiso as Seba’s hung on Luke’s shoulder, the Bount considered his options. He saw the line of normal people wanting to get in, and settled his gaze on the bouncers blocking the entrance. Having lived in a club for about a year, and having been a bit of a clubber, Luke knew how this worked. It would be difficult, at least moreso than usual, for them as men to get in. Clubs liked women. They paid more and looked better. Actually. Honestly speaking, he would have better luck getting in than Ranth or Kaen. Luke looked more the part. Kaen….well he ”Dressed like a retard. and Ranth ”Doesn’t really seem that type.” He actually had money too. He could bribe his way in, or use his vampiric seduction abilities to charm the guards. But what would be inside the club? According to Seba’s they were essentially walking into enemy territory. It would be stupid to just go in. Wait...would they need to?

Luke’s brow tightened a little as an idea began to form, just as Kaen began approaching the bouncers. Luke would follow a few feet behind the Shinigami. But whereas Kaen approached the bouncers, Luke took a turn and began walking adjacent to the line of people wanting to get in. Gripping the matchbox he was hiding in his jacket pocket, Luke crushed it beneath his fingers and whispered the magic words. ”Show yourself…Jäger.-AH!” Luke blurted out, tripping and catching himself. ”Ah, I’m sorry, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention are you okay?” Luke asked the woman he had just bumped into and tripped over. Of course, this was all part of the plan.

Luke’s release wouldn’t catch anyone's attention. Jäger’s release was special. The Doll had a suppressive ability after all. What Luke did, though, was trip on this girl on purpose. She was a pretty young woman with some of her friends, she would have no issue getting in. When Luke was near her, he had bumped into her to cause his shadow to cross over onto hers, allowing Jäger to spread into her shadow and into the connecting shadow of her friend. Luke continued walking as though nothing ever happened, rounding the corner until approaching the back end of the alley that Seba’s was hiding in. You know what to do, right? Luke asked, like a concerned parent worried that their kid was going to light the house on fire trying to microwave water.

”Yup! I got this! It’s high time Jäger got his moment to shine!”

The plan was simple. Jäger, hidden from sight and sensory, would simply hitch a ride in those womens shadows until he got into the club. Every shadow that touched a shadow infected by him would become a road for him. Shadow by shadow, Jäger was going to get into Paradiso, find that owners room and find that coin or anything else of interest. This was maybe one of the smartest ideas Luke had ever had. Now...let’s just hope Jäger behaved.

Luke's Remaining Reiatsu: 3,400 / 4,000
-400+200 Reiatsu for releasing our new best friend

Jäger's Remaining Reiatsu: 1,660 / 2010
-350 for Ungesehen

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jäger's Stats, Skills, and Ungesehen}
Jager | Freak

Strength - 150 - 300 Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 300 - 201 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 900 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 225 - 151 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 75 - 131 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points


Ungesehen (Unseen) - This is a passive ability, available to Jäger at all times. It suppresses his reiatsu signature, rendering it incapable of being detected by anyone except those who have superior Energy Sensory to his Reiatsu Strength. This alone is potent. However, it also augments his Overall Ability, causing shadow form objects to vanish from energy sensory in the same manner. However, regardless, Jäger is capable of tracking those objects with his own energy sensory.

Drawbacks: Jäger can still be detected by sight when it is in it’s hunter form, regardless of people’s energy sensory. The same holds true for shadow form objects. Additionally, if someone has superior Spiritual Offensive Stat then this ability is also negated. This ability instantly docks 350 reiatsu from Jäger’s pool once he is are released.

[Ranth]

Second from the right is Ranth's current outfit

---

It was no exaggeration to say that Ranth was quite lost as he sat back and watched events unfold around him that he could barely follow. It seemed that the missing person they had been summoned to find was something of a cold case and Luke made no secret of his disdain for Seba's perceived lack of action. Indeed, it certainly seemed like a strange order of events if ordinary logic was involved and yet Ranth had to remind himself that what they were dealing with was far from ordinary- not least of all because Shinigami and now Bount's were involved. Still, Ranth kept his mouth shut as Luke began to storm off only for Seba to cling to him like a barnacle and plead with him to understand. Totally lost indeed.

Kaen on the other hand seemed to be in his element as he displayed exactly why he belonged in Squad 7 - renowned for its responsibilities relating to investigation and interrogation. The way he systematically broke down the facts they'd been presented with and formed the most logical hypotheses from them was no less astute than any crime drama on human television. All in all, it seemed that they had all their bases covered and Ranth wasn't especially required for the time being and so he was content to follow along behind them as they made to leave the club - first Luke with Seba hot on his heels and then Kaen followed by Ranth.

As he exited the VIP area however he felt a sudden tug on his sleeve and turned in surprise to find one of the girls who had 'escorted' him across the dance floor to first make Seba's acquaintance. Blinking away his surprise, Ranth took in the expression of the shy girl and her companions who were huddled together not far away like a bunch of school children on a dear. "Excuse me sir... where are you and Mr Seba going?" The girl asked shyly and Ranth felt himself being put squarely on the back foot as his cheeks flushed. He was terrible with dealing with woman- especially attractive ones.

"We're going to visit Paradiso", Ranth answered honestly in the face of the girls imploring gaze. Upon sharing this, the gaggle of girls began to chatter quietly among themselves while the girl seemed to look... relieved? "Oooh thank goodness, we were worried that you were all going home and that we'd be alone for the rest of the night", the girl said as she instantly perked up and she gestured for her friends (of which there were 5) to come over and join them. "They're going to Paradiso", she confirmed with her companions which resulted in one of them tapping her nose knowingly. "They're pretty strict over there, it's great for us girls but it can be tough for guys to get in- especially on Thursdays", she explained gleefully.

"If we all go together you won't have trouble getting in and we don't have to stop partying so early", one of the other girls chimed in, spelling out for Ranth exactly what their angle was and causing him to feel a sudden cold sweat breaking out on his brow. "O-oh, well that would certainly be a big help", Ranth mumbled awkwardly even as he wondered if bringing more civilians into the picture would be problematic. But his opinion literally didn't matter as the girls swept him out of the club and down the road to Paradiso with utmost haste to catch up to Seba and the others.

It didn't take long for the group to catch up to Kaen and Luke, who just as the girls had predicted were being held up outside the club by the bouncer who was happily letting in women by the handful whilst a steadily growing group of men had been put to one side as they 'waited for more room to become available'. Upon spotting their desired companions, the girls swarmed Luke, Seba and Kaen - attracting the attention of the bouncer in the process as all of the girls were, as humans were apt to say 'damn fine'. "Won't you let me and my friends in? It's so cold out here", the self appointed leader of the girls batted her eyelashes at the bouncer.

[Deleted]

"Hahaha! My Captain is very Captain-y~! Slick in everything they do and always keeps us guessing… Even though I’m the closest person to them! Have been for more than a century actually!” He chatted merrily as he thought wistfully to all his memories of his beloved El Capitan and all the adventures they’d had on the seas way back when. He was grinning from ear to ear as he reminisced whilst walking alongside his newest, favoritest brother. “You’d like my Captain..And you.. and especially you.” He pointed one by one from Luke to Kaen and lastly to Ranth whom he eyed just a tick longer than everyone else, whilst giving the Kido Corps officer a lingering smile before turning his head back to Kaen.

“Oh I know where they are. I just need that one little thing! Everything else will sorta fall into place once I get that thing.”

Seba nodded eagerly to Luke, stopping him briefly, ready to seemingly go in to excruciating detail. “Mhm! Gold coin! ‘Bout the size of…” Seba picked up Luke’s hand and drew out the exact size of the coin he tried to describe. “That? Like a really big quarter.” He smiled wide, nodding his hand, not letting go of Luke’s hand. He looked down and cocked his head. “You have really nice palms, Brother.” With that, he let go and let Luke, Ranth and Kaen do their thing. “Ok! Good luck! I’ll be waiting back here to help you guys escape if you need it~!” He whispered aloud slipping into the side of the alleyway, peering out from the corner.

It was then Seba realized he was alone and he got nervous, looking around him and looking about, clearly worried about someone coming to kill him. He looked not just at Luke and Ranth but mostly at Kaen, wide eyed with horror as he realized the brunette wasn’t even going to so much as be able to get a napkin from the damn place. Both bouncers immediately turned their attention to Kaen, both quite strong, each grab a hold of either side of Kaen’s arm as he’d attempt to walk past him and pushed him back and away from the entrance. “Not looking like that, no.” They looked at him sternly but they weren’t being super aggressive. They had a code to adhere to and rules to follow and Kaen followed none of those for he was in a pirate costume. He was dressed for the occasion.. just not this one. “Come back dressed properly” and made a gesture for him to get lost. If Kaen looked around, he’d see Seba hanging out in the alley looking at him and giving him a sympathetic smile, gesturing for the brunette to join him if he wished to.

Meanwhile, Jäger and Ranth would have no problem getting into Paradiso. Jäger would hop expertly from one infected shadow to the other, easily making his way in. “This is Port Royal…Jamaica.. How are you cold?” He shot the girl a playful smile as he’d step aside, letting the group of 6 through. Ranth and his posse could easily waltz right in, girls surrounding, giggling and chatting amongst each other. Both parties would see an extravagant, lux interior that was extremely packed and upon further inspection, an unmanned corridor where there were much less people with a few doors. One for staff, an exit, another for a storage and the last one clearly belonging to the owner, where, if either happened to get closer would see peaks of light flashing ever so often and the sound of something inside shuffling.

[Kaen Youji]

"Awww! Come on mates!" Kaen complained to the bouncers. "This is Port Royal, landlubbers! Don't be discriminatin' against a man o' the sea!" As they removed Kaen from the property however, Kaen was already doing a check of them, to confirm that they were ordinary humans. He refused to move for just a moment, and the bouncers, if they were ordinary, would find that attempting to move or halt Kaen would be much akin to trying to move a brick wall. Only for a moment though, before Kaen acquiesced. He didn't want to make a scene after all. Well, not yet. In that moment, Kaen gave an analysis of the bouncer's body language. Were they confused or surprised? Kaen wasn't a particularly huge person afterall. Only about 5'7 with mostly lean muscle. Their body language would give away to Kaen, just how prepared the club was for a spiritual invasion.

Kaen noticed Seba hanging around and gesturing to him, then immediately pretended like he hadn't noticed Seba for a moment, to avoid drawing attention to the Bount. He acted as if he were walking away, but passed by Ranth, while he was still in the line, and muttered under his breath to the other Shinigami. "If you need a distraction, just send me a signal somehow. I'll make sure nobody is paying attention to you guys." He suggested, as he looped around and appeared to walk away from the group around a corner. Was Kaen just ditching the mission? That seemed... unlikely to say the least, but he certainly was walking away from everyone and out of sight.

About a second later, Seba would hear someone landing behind him and a voice. "Alright then, what's up, Seba?" Kaen asked, leaning against the wall. After leaving the group, Kaen had doubled back, slipped out of sight and had leaped up the side of the opposite building to the alleyway, before dropping down behind him. After being rejected at the door, Kaen wanted to put a little distance between himself, Ranth and Luke. Consider it a necessary precaution. If Kaen stuck out like a sore thumb, he was less likely to be associated with the Shinigami and Bount that didn't. If things got hairy, it could give the group an edge, if the group pursuing them thought there was only one active enemy (himself), or only two (Ranth and Luke). Either way, their opposition was more likely to underestimate their numbers. It might have been a senseless precaution, but Kaen didn't like to take chances in investigations. He knew from experience how quickly they could sour, but he also understood basic psychology, from that same experience, and that people were more likely to let something slip if they felt secure.

Back to Seba though. Kaen wandered down the alley with him, out of sight. "Anything we can do from back here, besides bail them out if they get into trouble?" He asked. "And if you don't mind me asking... Your Captain. Are they a Bount like you? That line you just said before we left. You've been with them for a century? So then, they're probably not a human, are they?" He asked. There were a lot of things that Seba's Captain could be. Bount, Arrancar, Quincy even--. Kaen blinked. So is that why...? A little piece of the puzzle had fallen into place, regarding Seb's behavior earlier. Or maybe he was off base, but Kaen was beginning to formulate ideas as to the situation at hand here. "Hmm. I think I get it. But feel free to answer my question anyways. I get the feeling you're not gonna tell me why you need the coin in there, besides what you've already said." He commented. "Which is fine, don't get me wrong. I like a good mystery~ And I like unfolding it one piece at a time." He added on, leaning against a wall. "So Seba. I'm going to guess we're not just hiding back here, are we?" He offered up to let Seba start talking. The mystery was starting to unfold at least a little, but there was still a lot of layers to the questions at hand. Kaen knew he was only starting to scratch the surface at any rate.

"If you do think I should be getting in there, even like this I can probably get in without kicking up a fuss anyways." Kaen added, an instant before popping a false soul candy, and emerging from his Gigai. He was in his standard Shinigami uniform. Well. "Standard". Kaen had made some modifications to the uniform. The Shinigami uniform usually had large flowing sleeves and bottoms, which Kaen had found extremely impractical. As a result, his uniform was closer to a vest with the sleeves torn off. A small glint was visible underneath the vest if one looked close enough. Kaen was wearing a chainmail vest underneath his uniform. The lower half of the uniform was closer to loose fitting pants than the big flowy outfits that most Shinigami wore. A short-bladed Zanpakuto was attached to Kaen's back by means of a cord that wrapped around his torso. "Unless you think there's someone in there that'll see me like this. I'm sure you're aware that most humans can't see Shinigami. And I don't think those two out front have any spiritual presence." He commented. "Anyone who does see me in there won't be able to act on it anyways, without looking weird as hell. Am I wrong?" He asked, before looking to Paradiso again. "If you've got something else you need me to do to help your captain out, or if you know something I don't about why this won't work I'm all ears. Otherwise I might just try to rejoin the infiltration team again, if that works?" He suggested.

[Deleted]

Luckily for him, Seba didn’t have to be alone for that much longer. He wouldn’t have to worry about hiding out alone after all. After deploying his Doll into the shadow of that woman in line, Luke rounded the corner and entered the other side of the alleyway that Seba had decided to hide in. Letting his hands rest in his pockets, Luke stopped approaching the other Bount once he had gotten a good few feet away from him. The black haired Bount’s amber eyes studied the other for a moment before closing. Placing his back against the wall, Luke let his head slump as though he were resting. It might have seemed...odd. It looked as though Luke was intending to just park it and do nothing. It certainly looked that way. But his card had been played. He didn’t have anything left to do.

He looked up when he saw Kaen return to the alleyway, hopping down from the rooftops above. He wasn’t able to get in after all. Of course he wasn’t. Not dressed like that. Luke wasn’t even confident he’d be able to get in without a chick or two. Unless he decided to “persuade” his way in with either money or Verteiten. Listening in on the conversation between Kaen and Seba, Luke blinked with surprise when Kaen asked his question. Why hadn’t Luke put that together? When Seba said he’d been with his friend for a century he thought he wasn’t being literal! Hmm.. he mentally murmured to himself, realizing that Kaen really was a policeman after all. He was better at being able to pick up these clues than he was.

Popping a Soul Candy into his mouth and discharging from his Gigai, Kaen finally looked like how Luke actually remembered him. Closing his eyes and sighing to himself, Luke pulled out his cellphone and started checking his emails. He was acting completely disinterested, honestly. ”You don’t need to stress yourself over getting in, Kaen.” Luke finally said, sliding his finger along the screen of his phone. ”We both already have someone on the inside. Let’s just let them do their thing.” He’d say, looking beneath him before lowering himself down to sit down on a box.

---

Ah now this was what he loved. The sky was camel toes! Feet were within his reach. Fresh air smelled like perfume and body spray! Unfortunately, as much as Jäger wanted to play around he knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate. Luke was on a short fuse today and he wasn’t sure bird-boy was gonna be enough to keep Luke from exploding on someone. Oh it was such a thankless, hard, job. If only Springflut and Luke were on talking terms. Wait, scratch that. Super soaker would one hundred percent be in favor of everyone’s favorite vampire screaming at someone. He was violent like that. Wait, what were we doing?

Ah right, right. Jäger was looking for a coin. He needed to find a office. He couldn’t enjoy the view for very long. He knew he’d need to get back to Luke soon, otherwise the guy would start getting worried. Or he’d hit Seba. Goooood the way Luke reacted to Seba when he held his hands was priceless. It still made Jäger laugh. He’d never seen Luke act in such a “What the fucking fuck?!” way before. Thankfully, though, this may have been a pretty easy mission! There were sooo many people that it made it stupid easy for Jäger to spread around like chlamydia. Or glitter. From one dancing persons shadow to another, the range of Jäger’s influence grew. A connected pathway of shadows just for him.

What made things better was the complete lack of awareness anyone had of him even being there. Unless he extended his Hunter Form, nobody would even know he was there. Unless someone could sense him. That would be annoying. But Ungesehen should have been handling that. That might be it. Jäger said to himself when he came to notice the corridor. But there was a problem. A lack of people. A lack of shadows to reach. Jäger was, actually, literally stuck on the dance floor with all the people. He could emerge from any of the shadows on the dance floor and near the bar, the shade outside, the bouncers shadows, Ranth’s shadow, Luke’s shadow, but he couldn’t reach the corridor. Sometimes he hated the limitation of his mobility.

He could always...just stick to Ranth. The Shinigami would have to pass through the same shadows that Jäger infected to even get into the club. That boy was infected. But at the same time Jäger wanted to beat him to the coin. A competitive spirit like that. Luke would probably also want to get the coin first. He was being weird today about working with the Shinigami. Usually he was totally fine with sucking up to them. Maybe having his bike cannibalized and having his personal racism and self loathing triggered put him in a bad mode. The Doll wasn’t Dr. Phil. Fuck what the hell did he do?

Wait. Was Jäger an idiot? This club wasn’t bright or light up a lot. All he would need to do was wait until someone with a infected shadow passed through the shadows of the hall, and Jäger was home free. Or he could wait. Let all the infected shadows grow. Or if they turned the lights off for the club, then all of his shadows would simultaneously grow everywhere and then be able to say “fuck you” to the lights. Wait that was a good idea. How did he get the lights off?

[Ranth]

Originally, Ranth had thought that the plan was for the group of girls to mingle with Luke, Kaen and Seba in order to get them all into the club, but unfortunately like an adventure on rails Ranth could only look on helplessly as he was basically herded like a sheep among five gorgeous she-wolves past the bouncers and into the club without a chance to even try to draw Kaen or Luke into the club with him. The closest he got was when Kaen brushed past him and let him know that he'd be waiting in the wings if he needed assistance. All Ranth had time to do was nod helplessly before he was whisked inside and the gaggle of five girls became a gaggle of well over a hundred girls with less than half as many men sprinkled between them in a truly touching display of gender equality.

In the midst of the flashing lights and blasting music, it took all of 60 seconds for Ranth to become separated from the group he'd entered with. In fact, he'd just stayed in one place as he tried to adjust to the sudden change in enthronement and by the time his eyes and ears adjusted they had melded into the writhing crowd around him. Feeling overwhelmed by it all, Ranth managed to wade towards the edge of the room where the crowd was a little thinner and then finally he emerged from the crush of heaving bodies to find himself at the mouth of a relatively abandoned corridor. Relatively abandoned because there was a couple of humans leaning against the wall playing tonsil hockey, but Ranth barely even noticed Ranth as he walked past on his auqest to find...

Ranth stopped dead in his tracks halfway down the corridor when he realised something rather important. He had no idea what on earth he was looking for in here. He'd fallen behind the group after they left Seba's club and so he'd been absent during the Bount's explanation of the gold coin. All Ranth knew was that paradiso was their destination and there was something- or someone- important inside. Heck, Ranth didn't even know that Luke had sent his doll inside. Cringing inwardly at the situation he now found himself in, Ranth hesitated for a moment longer before deciding there was really nothing he could do but forge ahead. In a way, there was nothing he had to fear from any of the humans and if he ran into anyone who wasn't human... well, that probably just meant that he was heading the right way.

Steeling himself, Ranth strode down the second half of the corridor and paused again. Several doors lined either side of the corridor here. One marked as being for 'staff', one was an emergency exit, one was marked as storage and the last one clearly belonging to the owner because it was marked by a sign that literally said 'this room belongs to the owner of Paradiso'. THinking logically, it seemed unlikely that the person Seba was looking for had been kept in storage for the past 4 years, not did he think that they were a part of the staff. Discoutnign the exit for obvious reasons, that left Ranth with only one logical place to explore... and that was the room that belonged to the person who owned the place that Seba seemed to think was linked to his friends current plight.

Thus, Ranth approached the door, taking note of the occasional flicker that shot through the crack beneath the door as he gripped the handle and slowly turned it before pushing the door open a crack and peering into the room beyond as discretely as possible.