now all you've got to offer me is a drink of gin

[12second_orz]

Who: Tonegawa (12second_orz ) and YOU
When: Friday afternoon- early evening.
Where: A high-class bar in Sector 3, moving to Lion's Gate towards the evening
What: Tonegawa uses his afternoon off to schmooze and make contacts in a classy joint. Feel free to run into him leaving or arriving, too!
Warnings: None

[Sitting at the bar and watching the gentle murmur of activity around him as he nurses his drink, Tonegawa can’t help but feel rather pleased with himself. He works by day, he meets and greets by night. If there’s one thing he can approve of, it’s a routine, and he’s certainly managed one of those here.

Not that making nice to big shots is all he wants to spend the rest of his time here doing- his ideal state of affairs involves far more room to stretch his legs in every sense, for what is power but the ability to do anything and be forgiven for it nonetheless? But even beyond that there’s something about the charade now that sticks in his throat, bitter and resentful, that he’s become more aware of now; his hands tense beneath their leather gloves with each forced laugh, each smile.

Still, he’s damn good at it and he knows it. He’s never wanted for patience in his life, either- swallowing now could earn him the right to spit later, if he’s good enough at it. There’s nouveau riche trash here, yes, but also a few people it’s well worth being sweet to.

Of course, what mood he ends up in by the end of the night depends entirely on which of them he manages to find, and while he might look laid back as he glances around the room he’s busy sizing up faces and suits.]

Comments

[underdogged]

[Kaiji only started his shift an hour or so ago but it's shaping up to be a fairly quiet, uneventful evening- boring but, to be honest, preferable to a potential black eye or argument.

Not that people usually give him much trouble anyway. One look at his surly expression and scars- it's usually the fingers that do it- and the troublemakers usually settle down, whether through a grudging respect or simply not wanting to start something.

He leans back against the wall by the door, arms folded and dying for a smoke. The uniform is still uncomfortably stiff despite a few months of wear and tear. He's considering asking for an early break when a familiar figure approaches, entering the lobby with that familiar, confident attitude.

For better or worse, looks like things just picked up.]

[12second_orz]

[Tonegawa knew when he chose Lion's Gate that there was a chance he would run into some unwanted company.

This is precisely why he never gambles.

Seeing the man slumped against the wall, stiff and uncomfortable and with his hair in a ponytail of all things, he has to feel sorry for Creed. Making Itou Kaiji presentable... there's a fool's challenge if he ever saw one, and whatever Fairy Godfather-esque magic he might have attempted simply hasn't paid off. He's no fucking Cinderella, that's for certain. Perhaps that surlier attitude works on the younger generation of troublemakers, but not him.

Maybe it's that obvious discomfort that makes bolsters Tonegawa's spirits a little as he heads in: it's obvious who's in the driving seat now. He smiles a shit-eating smile at Kaiji, daring him to react, and holds out his overcoat.]

Would you?

[underdogged]

[Even before he opens his mouth, Kaiji knows exactly why Tonegawa came here and steels himself for the first blow. But it's the smugness, the barely disguised contempt, the sheer gall of what he says that completely catches him off guard.]

[with great self-control] You don't waste any time, do you, sir?

[He bears his teeth in an expression somewhere between a grimace, a growl and a desperate grin.

Alright, alright, calm down. Don't let him get to you.]

I don't deal with that kind of thing- you should take it to the cloakroom.

[12second_orz]

[Oh, he likes that 'sir', even if it's clearly sarcastic. Along with the obvious frustration on Kaiji's face he's got more than enough reason to linger here a little longer.

He smiles airily, as though he can't see that the man is all but growling at him- a mutt through and through.]

I don't see why you can't. I thought you'd jump at the chance to put off doing any real work.

[underdogged]

[The corners of his mouth drop, the forced grin momentarily transforming into a scowl before he catches himself. Kaiji draws himself up out of his slouch- he can at least get the edge on the other man in height this way.]

Because I'm not getting paid to do it. [with a false casualness] You'd hate it if you found out you were making life easier for someone else, wouldn't you?

[12second_orz]

[And Tonegawa shoots back, smiling a sweet, unassuming smile and without missing a beat:] It's only your life I'd hate to make easier, Kaiji-kun. I thought you knew that by now.

[underdogged]

["Bite me."] Very funny. Only, for me to actually do my job, you gotta show me some ID.

You know- just making sure we don't let any criminals or scumbags in.

[12second_orz]

Of course. You put the criminals and scumbags on the doors.

[He makes a great show of taking out his wallet, exquisite leather on leather, and then of opening it to find his ID at just the right angle so that Kaiji gets a flash of cards and even of cash.]

Promise you won't try to steal this?

[underdogged]

Fucking hilario... [Kaiji's eyes go to the crisp lines of notes tucked inside the wallet. Then to the impressive array of cards, the supple leather of the wallet and finally to the ID, where he was supposed to be looking the whole time. He can't even resist it and in those moments, a slightly pained look crossing his face.

Goddamn it!]

[pretending like he doesn't care] ... hilarious. But I'll need to check the ID by hand. You know, just to make sure it's not some kind of shady fake.

["Just like you".]

[12second_orz]

[It worked. Even if he hadn't trailed off, the change in Kaiji's expression speaks a thousands words more than whatever he could have interrupted. A petty victory, perhaps, but one to savour. Tonegawa smiles unpleasantly, an old wolf bearing teeth over the latest kill.]

Oh, of course. I'd hate to stop you from doing your job. [He takes the card out and offers it to Kaiji] There.

[underdogged]

[Kaiji snatches the card from him, glaring. He's definitely starting to feel hunted- if Tonegawa's the wolf, he's the rabbit on the run, darting in and out of trees and tripping over its own feet.

He barely glances at the information on the card but he makes a great show of checking it over, going over the photo and examining the font and signature like he's some kind of TV detective.

After a few moments, he holds the card back out.]

Get the hell out of my face. [pause] And don't you dare talk shit about me to my boss again.

[12second_orz]

[Nothing else to say, and Kaiji is riled as hell. Tonegawa takes the card with a little smile.]

Oh, you heard about that, did you? I hope I didn't get you into trouble.

[underdogged]

You're damn lucky you didn't. [It's an empty threat but making it sound serious can't hurt. Kaiji gives him one last look up and down then tosses his head.] ... just go in. I don't want to look at you anymore.

[fidele]

[ Hovering around Tonegawa isn't her style at these events; she lingers a few metres behind him, in an unrelated cluster of people or alone at the walls, and as he moves to speak to a Lion's Gate worker, only a snatch of speech makes its way to her, a glimpse of tense body language between them before a small crowd closes off her contact with them. She didn't need to survey Kaiji's exchange with her boss for long to confirm their relationship is not of a warm nature. Familiarity does not always equate with friendliness, she concludes.

In another sense, she, too, is familiar with him-- whether the opposite is true is unknown to her. All evening, Tonegawa has dropped hints at trouble with employees; at the office he freely uses her name. And Kaiji has an extensive record at Imperial Finance, both on paper and as idle gossip among the workers.

He's infamous. That alone doesn't determine her view of him than their brief conversations on the network-- and any long list of debts only places him objectively as a potential future assignment once this certain ban on lending has been lifted. Amongst her curiosity for what kind of person he is, all she can really put to his face is pity, for the way Tonegawa seemed to be gloating from afar.

Once her boss has moved on, Chane allows herself to drift away from the gaudily-suited men gathered near her and rest at the same wall, two metres down. Her gaze on him is soft and steady, measuring his stance, his expression. ]

[underdogged]

[One look and- whether you knew him very well or not- you can tell that Kaiji's fuming. It's a quiet, simmering kind of fury that tenses every muscle in his body, darkens his entire face, clenches his jaw and fists and makes every question, every word spoken a bitter accusation. And this is him exercising some kind of restraint- if he thought he could've gotten away with it, he'd have decked Tonegawa there and then.

But he can't. He can't lose this job... and more importantly, he can't let Tonegawa win. Even letting himself go this far is a loss in itself.

And that's part of his frustration. Why is it like this? Why the hell is it always this constant, nagging battle. It's just a pissing contest- there's no substance to it, no reason. It should have ended that night but here they are, still trying to one-up each other. Given the chance, Kaiji would gladly blame Tonegawa for that much; he is, after all, the man who showed him true pride.

Caught up in his own bad mood, he doesn't notice Chane watching him at first. Likewise, he's also oblivious to the bad name he's made for himself at Imperial Finance without even entering the building- even if he did know, he wouldn't be sure whether to be angry or proud.]