The first rule of fight club

[yourotherleft]

Who: Zoro yourotherleft & OPEN!
When: IC 5/4-5/5
Where: various places in the Pleasure District
What: In the process of becoming a bounty hunter, Zoro is about to stumble on something even more curious in the "underground" where criminals in the colony play.
Rating/Warning: none but lmk if that changes

[One doesn't have to hang around in the alley outside Novus/Replea to hear about the criminal underground of the Cerealia colony, but it helps. A chance encounter elsewhere has already turned Zoro on to the existence of alien criminal factions and their need to put prices on the heads of their rivals, but this is his first night actively haunting the dark side looking for someone to nab. His luck is unusually good tonight, he's already spotted someone whose photo he scored from a rough customer inside the club, now to trail him and see where he goes just in case he leads the hunter to even more high-priced bounties.

He has no idea where he is at any given time anyway, so tracking his quarry all the way from the entertainment district to the pleasure district doesn't faze him, it only results in a change of scenery. But the deeper he goes, stealthily following his bounty, the more Zoro uncovers.]

Scene I. Pleasure district, bars

[He's not at all interested in company, clothed or unclothed, living or robot, but the sake is pretty damn good down here. The alien with reward money on his head apparently likes the host clubs, though, so Zoro can be found parked on a bar stool in one, waving off the hosts and hostesses while running up a hell of a tab. The more he drinks, the more personable he is if anyone wants to strike up a conversation.

What they don't know is, he has no intention of paying that tab. But can he get out without causing a riot and tipping off his target? You, hey, you there - come here, let him talk to you so he can watch the bounty over your shoulder.[]

Do you work here? Hang on, that's not what I meant! I just wanna know where the back door is.

[what do you mean that is the worst question you can ask in a place like this?!]

Scene II. Pleasure district, brothel

[Well, shit, his target went upstairs, so how is a bounty hunter supposed to pass the time when he himself is entirely uninterested in what this place has to offer? But wait, there's a hell of a lot of noise coming from the next level down...

There isn't a stairwell leading down inside the building, but around back, there's definitely a side door and a set of steps, with two rather hulking thugs standing guard on either side of the door. Zoro isn't at all put off by their presence, but walking straight up to them doesn't seem to make them move to let him through. He can hear what plainly sounds like fighting and cheering, and can sense a lot of strong people down there. But he'll need a hand to get down there to see it for himself. What do you think, can you A, talk their way in, or is it better to B, fight your way in?

Spoilers, there's a fight club downstairs, and if you can get in, you might find yourself joining that club. Zoro's joining it, no matter what.]

Scene III. Pleasure district, spa

[The bounty money is good and all, and most of it is going to go toward food and booze, but as long as he's in the area, Zoro is up for checking out the bathhouse in the spa. Not for shenanigans, for a bath! It's a good place to meet people, they say, so who knows? Maybe he'll make a new friend, or find a potential sparring partner. Or, on the other hand, he might come to realize why bathing with others is not as much fun as it sounds on paper.]

Comments

[yourotherleft]

Eating is awesome no matter what kind of body you have. [sage nod right back] And drinking. I haven't taken you guys out drinking, yet. You should come by Tenka's bar some night.

[adornmental]

You know that guy, too? He's been taking care of Sayo and Kousetsu for a while, with Sousei. [And while Kashuu is closer to Sousei, he likes Tenka by proxy, more or less.]

I went to his bar once and he gave me a hard time, y'know. But if it's a good place to drink, I guess I don't mind going back.

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, he hired me to be security at his bar. So I kinda owe him a little. [aww, poor Kashuu.] You don't have to hang out with him, though, I'm just saying, if I'm there, it's a good time to drink.

[adornmental]

I don't mind him. [He's just a huffy tsuntsun moron who holds pointless (but also harmless, most of the time) grudges for dumb things.]

But good! Just tell me when you work and I'll stop in. I'll see who I can bring with me, too.

[yourotherleft]

I'm there most nights it's open. If you bring a bunch of the guys down, I bet Tenka'd let us hang out after close and have our own party. [because staying up to 4am drinking is the best thing ever, in Zoro's estimation]

[adornmental]

[Kashuu isn't as heavy a drinker as some of his comrades, but even he would agree with that assessment...]

Nice! I guess I can forgive him for being a pain earlier, if he'd let us do that.

[yourotherleft]

[he grins, and even chuckles a little. Wow, friends to drink with and a plan to do so, he feels so lucky]

I'll see what I can do. Pull some strings with the boss and all.

[Zoro lifts himself out of the water just enough to stretch his arms out along the edge of the bath, to cool off a bit. His bruises are definitely clear now against his tanned skin]

[adornmental]

I'll leave it to you, then!

[DON'T LET THEM DOWN!! Though it's not like Kashuu would be particularly fussed either way... He can't imagine Tenka would have a problem with any of them crashing for ages, anyway.

That said, his attention is drawn to those bruises as soon as Zoro raises his arms, and he arches a brow in turn.]

Where'd those come from?

[yourotherleft]

Huh?

[looks down; they do smart a little from the hot water but he hadn't hardly paid attention]

Oh. I ran into a bit of a fight last night. Nothing big. [he looks up with a completely immodest smirk] It was fun, and I actually got some money out of it.

[adornmental]

Eh? Did someone pay you to beat 'em up or something?

[Why is that the first conclusion he comes to.]

[yourotherleft]

Kind of. Found this place hidden away where they make people fight each other for money.

[so, almost!]

Sounds like it's a thing they do here, but they keep it quiet from CERES. Probably don't want 'em breaking it up, it's probably against the law.

[adornmental]

Oh! Ooh, so it's like a fight ring or something?

[He's never actually seen one himself, only heard of them, but he nods along at the description. "Probably against the law" is as good a reason to break it up as any...]

Good work! Did you take the whole thing down?

[yourotherleft]

Yeah something like that. [what Kashuu no! Zoro recoils a bit, perish the thought!] Huh? No way! I only fought a little, watched the rest. I wanna go back another night and see if they'll let me fight again.

[adornmental]

[ZORO PLEASE he's a police sword, this is what he does!!]

Eh? I thought you were gonna infiltrate it and take it down from the inside or something! Like, take on everyone at once and then throw the guys in charge of it in jail!

[Sometimes he forgets Zoro is a self-proclaimed pirate...]

[yourotherleft]

[and of course Zoro doesn't know about the law-abiding swords...]

Why would I do that? They're not forcing anyone to fight, it's all voluntary.

[adornmental]

[A DISCONTENT SOUND... On one hand, he tends to automatically condemn illegal things just because of how things were in the past. On the other, he isn't a police sword anymore, and he really doesn't give half a shit about what CERES deems illegal...]

...If it's voluntary, I guess that's fine.

[yourotherleft]

[he studies Kashuu for a minute before deciding how to explain]

I wouldn't want to be a part of anything like that if it was taking advantage of people. I've seen slavery, and worse, I'm not a supporter of that shit. But you can't expect me to be exactly law-abiding even without the black flag flying over my head.

[adornmental]

[He makes a little huffy sound, but it's not really one of disapproval.]

It's not like I really care what CERES thinks is illegal anyway, y'know? I guess it's just old habit. Anyway, as long as no one's forced, there are worse things out there!

[yourotherleft]

[n'aww poor Kashuu. Zoro smiles faintly for him]

You're a good guy, huh? Yeah, I guess habits can be hard to break. No sweat, I won't tell you all the gory details if you don't want. There's definitely worse out there, you don't see it unless go you go into the right places late at night.

[adornmental]

I'm a good sword. [It's an automatic correction, but one that's mostly true. His morals are too grey for him to be a good person in general, as far as he's concerned, but he's definitely the sword of his master...]

I don't mind fighting and stuff, anyway, so you can tell me stories if you want. [But that second part definitely rings familiar to him, and after a beat he adds:] Kinda like all that shady blackmarket stuff, right?

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, that. I'm not surprised to find it here - the black market is everywhere, no matter how tough the law is.

[right, he remembers now, the swords serve their masters, so whatever service Kashuu provided is what he knows best.]

Who did you serve? Some noble samurai?

[adornmental]

Breaking up something like that would really be a lot of hassle...

[He says, like he's considered trying it before... WHICH HE HAS. But he's not surprised to see it either, and he knows how cyclical humanity can be. Even if they take it down, something else would replace it.

The question gives him pause for a second, though. Considering he wouldn't even refer to his old master by name until very recently, it's still a little strange for him to speak about the past with any frankness.]

...I guess. Back then, I used to serve a guy who was known as a prodigy. He was captain of the first division in a police force and he did a real good job keeping the streets clean, but he was brutal so he kinda had a bad reputation. They all did.

[yourotherleft]

[better fighting rings and technology smuggling than slavery, Kashuu...]

Ohh. So a police officer, but not necessarily the nicest one. Sounds like a lot of Marines I know. It's their job to clean up the streets or the seas, can't really fault 'em for that, but there's different ways to go about that. Some better than others, eh?

[adornmental]

[HE KNOWS IT considering the class he first came from... But he'll nod in response to that.]

I mean, don't get me wrong! Outside of battle he was super sweet. Kids loved him, he'd play with stray cats... Stuff like that. It's just that— ["He was kind of like a sword"; he's heard Souji say the same thing before, more or less, and while he doesn't think it's possible for any human to ever really understand what it's like, he knows that man came close.]

...Well, he'd just cut down whatever he was directed at. Kinda dangerous, right? Anyway, his commander was a good guy, so they never went after innocents.

[yourotherleft]

Dangerous isn't always bad. Police and military need it every bit as much as pirates and rogues. I don't begrudge 'em that, it's what they do. And he was good to you, right? Nothing wrong with that.

[elbows over to nudge Kashuu] I'm just giving you a hard time. Don't sweat it, Kashuu.