Description: Compelled by dark rumours and harsh realities both, private eye and Todoh-ryuu representative Daniel "Jack" Little makes his entrance into the feminist haven of Seijyun High. His every step is tracked and traced by the woman he's seeking, but actually obtaining an audience proves to be a tougher challenge... can conflict be avoided and a resolution reached, or is Zaki as woefully violent as his sources suggest? Answers ahead, as Daniel Jack investigates 'The Chains of Seijyun'!
Seijyun High.
12 PM.
Daniel Jack takes a deep breath, dressed in his Zoot Suit best. The detective, garbed in his orange suit, swaggers onto the ground with his pass hanging around his neck. It was hard to get in. Very difficult. Men rarely were allowed on the grounds of the sacred . Fortunately, Daniel Jack had an ace in the hole.
Lying.
Well, telling half-truths. Daniel Jack had a very important, very private message for Kasumi Todoh, the daughter of Master Todoh... who happened to be attending Seijyun High. Naturally, this was private Todoh business, which meant, under great pain of secrecy, it could not be delivered through a middle-man. It had to be given to Kasumi in PERSON. And with directions about where he could find the student, he was sent on his way, with specific instructions on where he should and should not go.
Naturally, these were guidelines in the detective's mind.
The strapping, dark-skinned detective in the incredibly flashy suit was wandering the grounds, looking somewhat focused in looking for something, someone. But not asking where, no. The detective had a scheme, a system. A plan. You don't look for trouble, when you are in enemy territory. You have trouble look for you. And Daniel was hoping a certain kind of trouble would catch him.
Aoi Himezaki and the Ladies' Team.
The detective finally reaches one of the many cobblestone paths, away from the main school. Danny was actually distracted now, eyeing the beautiful gardens, the architecture, the elegance. The detective was in awe of the beauty of the school. Daniel Jack just couldn't understand how a place so beautiful could produce a woman like Aoi Himezaki. Why couldn't she end up like a real woman. An angel. A saint.
Like Kasumi Todoh herself.
Gaining access to Seijyun, as a man, as a total outsider to their culture...
It's a complicated and difficult process in part because it's so unusual. The administration have contingencies for such an eventuality, of course, but the general assumption and expectation is that this simply shouldn't happen-- why would anybody be interested? Even when Justice High made its infamous move upon the schools of Southtown, Seijyun remained as a relative fortress, in part because they share a similar philosophical grounding; in truth, Seijyun's modus operandi is quite sympathetic to that of Justice. Zaki herself, in fact...
But it's more than that. The teachers at Seijyun are the elite of their type, chosen for their special interest in rearing the future wives of Japan's cultural foremost, and - in this present time - even female leaders in their own right. A focus exists on traditional values, abhorred by the sukeban, but there's a progressive element to Seijyun High. In past years, Daniel's scheme may not have worked. The envelope is being pushed.
Ironic, then, that the same looseness of formerly restrictive values has allowed Aoi to operate with relative freedom herself. The Ladies' Team isn't Seijyun; that's an unfortunate myth, understood by those who either lack or fail to strive for true understanding. Rather, they boast a large membership in the school, and Zaki remains one of their best-known ambassadors. Only Kirishima really rivals her, though Kazama comes close. This serves Zaki's purposes too, because even some of the girls otherwise unaffiliated with the sprawling gang hold the impression that they're somehow beholden to the Ladies' Team. To Zaki.
Which is why, as Daniel basks in the beauteous gardens, he's being trailed by a trio of girls. Word of his entrance has reached the relevant ears, trickling through the systems that Aoi has in place - carried where necessary by the fear and respect she commands - such that his every step has been traced. Watched. Heard. The moment he pauses away from the main complex of buildings, he'll find himself abruptly surrounded.
It's kept subtle, though. Three girls, one on each of four compass directions. The other is left conspicuously open, leaving a path clear through to the dormitories. Surely the most likely location were he truly searching for Kasumi Todoh at this time-- it's where she meditates, habitually, before her afternoon classes. It's also where Zaki's inner sanctum can be found, though the likelihood of finding her - at any hour...
Daniel should know how rare a thing that is. She's a delinquent, after all.
One of the girls approaching the P.I. speaks up as they close in upon him. She's clad in the Seijyun uniform, but also sports a brightly coloured bandanna that certainly isn't regulation-- and a matching pair of gleaming, piratical pearls in her ears. She's lacking a gold tooth, but one can almost imagine it's there as she smiles.
"You seem a little lost!" She calls out, swinging her arms at her side, quite chipper as she closes on the man along with her two colleagues - more plainly dressed, as it happens, and more solemn of demeanour. "Anything the Welcoming Committee can help you with? We're here to be of assistance, good sir!"
Daniel Jack truly was the embodiment of everything that Seijyun saw as running against traditional Japanese values. But on the same token, he was a man that did not see himself better than the culture around him. After all, he did take upon the mantle of Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu, whose art is seeped in tradition and family. An American to heart, he was a self-made man to the core. And his independence might run against the sense of community found in traditional culture. His presence was going to draw attention, one way or another.
And frankly, Daniel was too brightly dressed to do anything close to sneaking.
Daniel Jack's observation of the garden almost leads him into meditation. The serenity of this secluded location was a true treasure; Daniel felt gifted to be present to this cloistered sanctum of Southtown. But such serenity will fall. The detective approached by a young girl, and two colleagues. Daniel Jack looks tersely at the girl. Zaki might not be on the grounds now. But he wasn't looking for Zaki yet, oh no.
He was looking for her henchwomen.
"Oh, I am a little lost, kid, but maybe you can help me." The detective studies the men, analyzing them. They were delinquents, that much he could tell. He lived on Gedo Street, and he knew a delinquent when he saw one. But there was something off in their eyes. Gedo Street delinquents had a spark of good in them. But these girls... it wasn't good per say. It was independence. It was a fight for freedom, not for justice.
Daniel Jack might have found his Black Dragon.
Then Daniel Jack asks with the name. The name was a death sentence, spoken only by those in ignorance. Words that have lead to sheer terror to dozens of teachers, a name that has brought more strife to the world than culture, than religion. And Daniel Jack utters that name, casual as day, oblivious what it will ultimately mean for himself.
"I'm looking for Aoi Himezaki. Can you help me?"
Freedom. Isn't that something all men strive for? The answer is, of course, a resounding 'no'. Many claim to, all would declare it as a part of their ideal if pressed sufficiently; but that's because few are completely honest. To absolutely desire freedom - from rules, from confines, from restrictions - is to wish for an environment where one is willing to do all that one can to survive, and to guarantee survival for their tribe. Zaki's ideal, the ideal of the Ladies' Team, is precisely that state of anarchy. To live well, because the alternative is not to live at all. Not a state that many regard with any sense of anticipation.
But the girls now flanking Daniel Jack believe in it. They desire it. Their apparent ring leader, the beaming piratical waif before him, is close enough to their outright boss that she's guaranteed a place in that utopia. The brightly-clad P.I. has no way of knowing that, initially, though as an observant soul, he may catch the gleam in her eye and the swagger in her step as she paces around him. She doesn't seem anxious, per se...
Just a teenager bursting with energy. A bright light in the darkness of the world.
She watches him keenly up until the moment he utters /that/ name, and then she begins to laugh. It's a titter at first, little more than a schoolgirl's shy giggle, but it mounts to an outright guffaw, uncontrolled and boisterous - bursting from her lungs and throat as though he'd said the most outrageous thing possible.
"I'm sorry," she manages once her mirth starts to bubble away, reaching up to rub at a watery eye, "You've come here... looking for somebody like her? Dressed like that? I..." Trailing off, she hesitates, looking Todoh's prized student up and down, before curving a plucked eyebrow at him. Her eyes, green and bright, carry a plainness that might be refreshing-- she doesn't look like she's going to evade the issue. And yet--
"I don't think she's going to be interested in seeing you, dude."
If Daniel had met Zaki herself, he'd recognize an element of her speech pattern in that. The last word is uttered in English, the rest Japanese. It's an odd style, adopted by many of the rougher student element, one of those new-fangled modern trends that Aoi would claim she herself had implemented. Speaking of which, it seems Daniel's gotten away with saying that name. Perhaps it's not so big a deal as he thought?
So he might assume...
Until he hears the rattle of a chain on one side, the *snikt* of a switchblade on the other.
The girl in front of him is still smiling, though she spreads her hands now in a wide shrug.
"Please don't tell us you're going to insist. She really doesn't like it when people insist!"
Is Daniel a fighter of freedom?
It's hard to claim when you a guardian of freedom when the crux of your actions is expose the secrets of others, and in the end, hand them over ot the proper authorities. It's also hard to claim you are a guardian of justice when you as Daniel Jack, who seems more than content to play one gang off another to keep them from doing real criminal action. Daniel Jack was a good guy, but had one of the most unscrupulous means to come across that end.
One that these girls might come across soon enough.
The switch between Japanese and English catches Daniel off guard a bit. Slang was not unusual for the detective, but from a girl like this? It was bizarre to say the least. "Well, I figured it would have caught her eye." Danny says tersely, keeping a calm demeanor about him for now. "Or the eyes of her little gang members. It worked, too. Heard you guys were causing trouble in Sunshine City. Looking to solve that trouble." The detective raises an eyebrow at the girl.
"Looks like I found that trouble, kid."
"Still, when I thought I was going to encounter some gangster, I was thinking it was going to be a mite rougher than the Gedo High. Can't say I am impressed so far. But I shouldn't judge appearances; Aoi Himezaki probably makes you a lot tougher than you look. But as for insisting..." The detective pauses, looking at the surrounding. He heard the switchblade. He heard the chain. And yet... Daniel Jack makes up his mind.
"Could we insist elsewhere? This is too beautiful of a place to screw up over some crazy highschool kid."
"Or we could not?"
The girl responds easily enough, a playful but sardonic sort of boredom seeping into her tone as she raises her hands a little higher, hooking them together behind her head. With that alert gaze she sizes the man up a second time, before rolling a glance to either side - assessing also the readiness of her silent compatriots. When she looks back to Daniel, the smile returns wider than ever. She's cute; the girl-next-door ambushing the Cheshire cat in a back alley and frisking him for his lunch money. If that can be called 'cute'.
"See, dude," Her tongue protrudes from her lips, mouth remaining upturned around it, as though she's quite happily spotted how jarring that breed of slang seemed. If nothing else, she obviously enjoys her work. "You keep saying that name, and she doesn't like that. Doesn't like you very much, generally! Here you are, asking questions and poking around, all outside of where you belong..." Trailing off again, she pouts, cheek puffing out to one side as she considers Daniel once more, this time perplexed. "Where DO you belong? They told me you'd thrown out Kasumi-senpai's name, but you don't look like one of her dojo-buddies!"
Interesting that she applies the honorific; a clear indication that the Todoh girl does command some respect.
"But I guess it doesn't matter. /Zaki/ trusts me to make these calls, and I say we're not going anywhere. We can stay here and talk, or we can stay here and kick your rear-end. My advice? You're investigating Sunshine, you go there. We only took interest because they had their nose in our business. I'd be there now, but..."
"Well," she giggles, clapping her hands together and then throwing what amounts to 'jazz hands'. "Welcome Committee. Nobody does it better than me-- uh," a sideglance goes to a suddenly frowning girl to her right, "Us. We're the best she's got to keep an eye on this place. Take it from me, dude, you won't go through all three of us, even if you are all... you know..." Grinning, she waves her hands up and down, going through a fair if clearly satirical imitation of the famed 'Kasane Ate'. This just makes her giggle again.
"So what're we doing? We've kept the author-it-ay away, but only for a few minutes. And we're not budging!"
"Aoi Himezaki? But it is a sweet name. Like Kasumi Todoh."
Daniel Jack was laidback still, the detective keeping an even keel. He wasn't going to get riled up over these punk girls. Not that he wouldn't hit a girl: Marz and Momoko got him out of THAT principle real fast. He was letting out the jabs, for certain. "Is she around here? Or are you one of her higher-up representatives." The mention of Kasumi, however, seems to crack the detective's hardboiled shell. Damn. They might know Kasumi. The detective fretted. She was a tough cookie, but if this gang might take out Daniel's actions out on Kasumi.
And that was unforgivable.
Growing visibly more tense after the mention of Kasumi, he listens carefully to the girl. "Trusts you to make the calls. Yeah, that would mean you are an officer of the gang, sweetheart. Just the kind of girl I am looking for; who might know exactly where... -Zaki- is holed up." The detective tips his hat at the woman. He wasn't going to stick with Aoi Himezaki to piss off the gangsters. He had respect to spare, and with Kasumi in the mix, he didn't want to cause some loose cannon fallout with his sensei. "I want the story from her mouth. So if you are done welcoming me, maybe you can tell me where she is, so I can go on my merry way." It could have been simple. It could have been clean.
But then, she makes that mock Kasane Ate.
The expression that comes over Daniel Jack might be frightening for a sheltered Seijyun High girl. Or downright comical. But any warmth and light that was on the detective's face faded away, and was replaced by an enraged intensity, cold and precise for this one, perky woman. The detective's tone is just as piercing, aiming right for the heart with every word. "Kasumi is my teacher at the Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu Dojo. And if I didn't know any better, I would think you just insulted my sensei. Are you looking to causing trouble with the Todohs?"
"Answer -damn- carefully Princess Pirate."
They always want to speak with Zaki. Her subordinate makes a show of being slightly hurt by that fact, simpering for a second or two before her natural good cheer overcomes and her teeth are bared in a grin that might as well have fangs. For a supposed street tough, albeit one well-schooled and even educated in the most womanly art, she doesn't seem particularly intimidating-- though she's so far in the opposite direction she may loop back around just by grace of the sheer oddity of her manner.
Someone who acts like she does, whilst making threats, had better be very confident beneath the swagger.
Barely a downswing comes when Daniel's mood changes gears, though at least she doesn't laugh. The plucky waif does tip her head to one side, regarding him wide-eyed for a moment, the smile dimming only so far to stop being unnerving. At this point, she resembles a normal person having a normal, pleasant conversation. Perhaps over tea and cake in a pretty little cafe-bar by the riverside. In that situation, she'd look polite. Here?
"Aww! Princess?" It can only be somewhat aggravating. "That's so /sweet/! Can you imagine? Sailing the High Seas, waving my cutlass around, having all the men kiss my boots and call me their queen..." She dips into another giggle, and even performs a happy, hopping little dance before again clapping her hands together. "But! You wanted answers, didn't you? Careful ones, at that, dude. Huh-/hm/!" She pauses as though considering the question, before doing something that could be construed as very stupid...
She leans in close, without rising up on her toes, effectively unbalanced as she peers up at Daniel.
"Dude! Of course I don't have anything against the Todohs. Not Kasumi anyway. Are you kidding? I love her!"
By which process they've completely bypassed the subject of Zaki.
From a short distance away, a fourth pair of eyes settle on Daniel Jack. Specifically, on his back.
"Tch," hisses their owner, irritably flicking out a wrist. Steel links sing as they brush the ground.
Oh god in his face.
Daniel Jack doesn't even blink when she shoots into his face, a face of utter focus. But as she tells him that Kasumi is a friend, he very, very notably eases back. Voice calming down to a friendly, almost casual tone, he quickly apologizes. "Sorry about that, then. Ryuhaku has a... reputation, along with myself. I worry about Kasumi, and how she deals with a bunch of loudmouths that keep turning up on the news." The detective seems to lose the intense presence, and fades back to a much more even-handed hardboiled presence. "Well, hell. That makes this a lot more awkward: A friend of Kasumi should be a friend of mine. I'll take it that you are a lot more loyal to Zaki than you are to Kasumi, though." The detective shakes his head. This was actually getting a lot easier than he had hoped. At least so far. No teachers to run into, just kids. Not as easy as the Gedo High stock, but still safe enough. But then he catches something.
The sound of steel links hitting the ground.
The detective ears perk up, as he glances briefly behind him, before turning back towards his perky friend. A fourth player. This might be a set up. Daniel Jack had to keep it even here. Maybe he could avoid a confrontation, and get the information he needed. "You know, that is a pretty cute idea. I get the feeling that there isn't a lot of cute tolerated here. Hell, I get the feeling there aren't a lot of men around here, you dig?" THe detective growls sardonically, adjusting his collar. He might have to start using his dirty tricks around the gangsters. "You know, I was trying to think how a place like this could get a gang leader like Zaki causing trouble, but you really show me how. It's not a gang born from Seijyun; you girls are fighting against it. You don't want to be a bunch of girlie girls, primped and polished by your families, just to get married off to some executive, where you lavish him forever. That's not your style, is it. But how are you gonna break away from the base? And that's where Zaki shows up. Heh."
"But I get off topic."
Daniel Jack might be an adult, an authority figure. But he was utterly outside any traditional bounds of authority. Not above it, not outside. Not against it, not for it. Just outside it. "I know Zaki is kicking around Sunshine City, rousing up the gangs there. But I want to know what she is up to, what she has to do with Abobo..."
"And what she knows about the Black Dragons."
The detective seems to be keeping his guard just short of down. He was alert, and with his passing towards the other two, he seems content with keeping the manic pixie girl to be around. It meant less fighting, and frankly, Daniel Jack didn't want to deal with a fight between 3-4 students, with hardly a lead.
Wait, was Daniel Jack actually trying to settle this with a peaceful route?
"Friends!" Echoes the piratical waif when Daniel calms his demeanour, favouring him with a bold and approving nod, "Friends is better. We've got nothing against you, dude..." She quiets to hear him out for the duration of his speech, patient enough but for the odd scuff of a toe against the ground - that natural energy not exactly fading as the conversation progresses. She's just keeping it reined. If she were pushed on the subject, she'd have to admit that she expected to be brawling by now, too.
There's a reason they haven't seen any teachers. Distractions. Seijyun High doesn't belong to Zaki, not really.
But it's hard to find a single classroom she doesn't have hooks in. She commands loyalty here.
The P.I. hits the nail on the head, in that regard and in others, and the swaggering teen's own manner shifts subtly, that smile gaining a more transparent quality. She appears to appreciate the summation - honest as it is and phrased without the preamble of judgement. There's not many people who 'get' Seijyun or the Ladies' Team; seeing the former as stuffy at best, outright weird and backwards at worst, the latter as simple thugs. Even if girls are so rarely branded so-- a reason Gedo shies away from the female element. For all the similarities between them, they'd be hard-pushed to be a great deal more different, really.
Back to the topic at hand, and the girl is forced to draw a breath, seeming to focus back on-track.
"I don't know, dude," is her immediate response, reaching up to scratch at the side of her nose. It was hard to spot before, but there's actually a small hole there-- presumably where a stud or hoop normally goes. Apparently even the Ladies' Team occasionally have to bow to regulations. "Black Dragons? There was something about like, tattoos or something, but that's really not inside my remit. Welcome Committee, remember?" She grins huge at that, and pounds the raised hand against her chest. Apparently she's very proud of her role!
"'Course, you could always ask her yourself?"
That seems to come out of left field, until a deeper, harsher voice resounds from behind Daniel Jack.
"Oi." Apparently the sukeban herself is less friendly than her subordinates-- and yes, when he turns around, he'll see the statuesque form of Aoi herself, chain trailing at her side, barely touching the ground as she steps to within a dozen feet of him, tall on her high-heeled boots, hair a jagged mess of virulent crimson. She certainly knows how to make a visual impression. "I've had a shitty week, the last thing I need is..."
Her eyes narrow, piercing blue and stern, boring into Daniel's very soul.
"/You/."
Her manner might detract from the odd burden she bears. Tucked under her right arm and held against her body; a pile of books, a few scuffed and beaten and others appearing rather new. They're probably fairly heavy, but she simply balances them there as though they were nothing. That's how she wants them to appear. Daniel's presence isn't convenient, and everything in her posture screams it-- he shouldn't be there. But then, he knows that.
"Hamada, why the hell aren't you kicking this idiot in the face?"
"This dude? Er... he's a friend of Kasumi's and he just wanted to talk. Seemed harmless, Zaki!"
"Yeah. I bet he wants you to think that. What's your name, old man?"
"The name is Jack. Daniel Jack. Private Investigator."
Daniel Jack doesn't turn off that unusual charm he has. Hamada put it best. A friend of a friend, just wanted to talk. And most importantly, just harmless. Daniel Jack could make the weakest of thugs just see him as a harmless, quirky detective. A Columbo, of sorts. Zaki wasn't wrong either. Daniel Jack wanted people to see him as harmless.
It kept their guard down.
The detective doesn't show any outward hostility. In fact, when Zaki arrives, he seems to act as if she was a pleseant interruption to a conversation with friends. "Didn't think I would run into you, Zaki." The detective says, tipping his hat out of respect. Looking over the woman... or as Daniel readily identifies, schoolgirl, he nods firmly. "Then again, I suppose ganglords have to attend classes too. It is exam season, after all." The detective passes a glance at the named pirate, Hamada, before focusing back at Zaki. The detective own charm ran against Zaki's presence. The detective was keeping cautious here.
Didn't want to start on the gang boss this early.
"I didn't come here to start trouble. Would be a disrespect to you... and this place." Daniel Jack seemed to have an odd set of priorities. Showing respect to both the chaos and freedom that the Ladies Team desired... and the regal air of the school itself. Maybe Daniel was just a two-timer. Or maybe he really did see himself as between the two ideals. The detective continues. "I wanted to figure out why a student from Seijyun High was setting the criminal underworld of Sunshine City on fire... and what you had to do with the Black Dragon and Abobo. You are making one hell of a reputation for yourself, Zaki. What I want to know is..."
"What's your game?"
Woman or schoolgirl? It's hard to identify which Zaki may prefer, were it spoken aloud. Before a man such as this, it scarce matters; her manner would not shift in any case. His introduction gives her all the information she needs to process her feelings on both his presence and his continued existence. Those vulpine eyes seem to narrow even further - it should barely be possible, but they do, slashing to violent flaring lines for a half-beat before she leans back, settling into her spiked heels with a disapproving grunt.
"Yare, yare," she mutters, over the sound of Daniel's voice. It washes over her as though he were nothing more than the ocean lapping up against unyielding cliffs-- perhaps an apt metaphor, given she has no intention of remaining entirely silent. He's allowed to smash away, causing what erosion he can in the time given. That's how it feels, speaking to Zaki; at least on her terms. Like every second is something she suffers to pass. He's lucky she doesn't just strike. A Private Investigator? She can think of only a few things she likes less.
His declaration of peace, of respect, does catch her off guard though. People like him don't usually bother.
His question, though, that elicits a scowl beneath the choking leather of her mask.
"My game?" She echoes, voice booming though it carries the edge of a snarl. "Is that a 'respectful' question, Daniel Jack?" Like the slang from earlier, his name sounds positively odd in her thick local accent. "You're after me for something I've done outside this school-- an action you admit was taken against /criminals/, and to do this you come into a place made for learning, where girls can get their start in life..." She lets that hang for a moment, though it's clear she has no intention of not speaking further, "And I'm the one being investigated?" Her eyes gleam as she lifts her chin, "If you know anything about me, you'll know why I did it."
"I did it," she continues regardless, folding the chain-bearing arm across her torso. The weapon rattles as it swishes in the air. Her sleeve now neatly covers the spines of the books she's holding. "Because Abobo's little pets stumbled into /my/ territory; my town. A man like you should be paying less attention to a mere 'student' from Seijyo and more time prying into what they were doing here. Illicit deals, Daniel Jack. Weapons, drugs. All the bad things that keep pretty girls from sleeping at night, afraid of what /men/," that's said pointedly enough to cut, as she shifts posture, angling her chin even higher, now staring down her mask, "Might do."
"So why don't you clear out, get on with that, and I'll get on with my fucking exams?"
The expletive is in English. That seems to be a theme. Less thematically appropriate, to the mood Aoi herself now seems to set, is young Hamada-- who is singing quietly to herself in the background, and playing some kind of odd hopping game. The other two remain silent, and staring at Daniel.
Daniel was good at understanding. After all, past his eccentric, bizarre sleuth chasing, he was a very analytical, calculating detective. And like Zaki, he had that anarchist edge to him, that free spirit. But well within the boundaries of society, even the occasional service. The detective holds himself steady, confident, but not the overbearing presence like Zaki held herself with. He does inspect the uniform briefly. This wasn't an outfit. This was a costume. Zaki had the air of a woman, a dominating woman.
But through it, Daniel saw the child that made her.
The beautiful environment was a stark contrast to this woman, Daniel thought to himself. But still, the detective takes off his hat, fanning himself with it. "Well, if Abobo's gang got into your territory, I'd take that. So Sunshine City is burning because you hit back? Well, I'd say that's a well-justified defense. Not that you need to justify yourself. If you got any information about Abobo's gang, that'd be great. But, uh, you might not like my second question."
"When are you going to clear out?"
The detective looks at the two quiet thugs, and the spacy genki thug. He smiles at them. "Since your girls came in, the place has turned into a riot zone. You sure riled them up real good. Not that I am bothered by you thumping Abobo, but I'm more worried about the bystander casualty. You started a wildfire in Sunshine City, and I don't know where it is going to stop. But you probably like the feeling though, don't you." Daniel replaces the hat back on his head, eyes penetrating the young lady.
"The anarchy, the chaos. You love the feeling of sending society down to its knees, don't you?" %
A city burning? It was never on the agenda, but a cat loves to play away. The passion that buoys the women of the Ladies' Team through their shared existence, united under Zaki as their idol - perhaps more than leader or spokeswoman, in truth, a figure sold upon her image. That image is everything. To her, as well. A fact she's admitted these past few weeks, between the occupation of Sunshine and her dire performance in the Devil's Tournament; the subsequent blow to her leonine pride only driving the former all the harder.
To give ground is to display weakness. It's not something Zaki can do.
"Society gets what it asks for."
Her shoulders even roll in a shrug as she says that, before she takes a step forward, ostensibly to begin leaving-- to study whatever tomes she has collected from the dormitories before venturing into this savage garden. That's what it is to Aoi, not a place of peace and solititude, but another battleground-in-waiting. Life is a war, a series of mounting battles leading to the achievement of her ultimate purpose. Does a general give way in battle, when he knows he's capable of winning? Retreat is something a necessity. Not here. Stepping closer to Daniel just makes her seem taller, her heels giving her a couple of inches on the private eye, but with the addition of her stage presence... her presence on the battlefield... she's an amazon.
"Do you know how many women are assaulted on the street, in the average city, in the average week? How many are beaten, abused, mugged, and raped by the filthy scum who would call themselves predators? Who believe themselves /strong/? Our actions may hurt, but no more than the actions of those who would otherwise rule. We simply make our stand in public, we make the news, we become rumour and legend. The worst monsters in this world are the ones you cannot see, Daniel Jack, the hard-working businessman with a sly streak-- touching girls as he rides home, paying downtrodden prostitutes each evening to take his frustration. All so he can return the next day with a banal smile, and keep earning his dirty yen. Cycles of abuse, everywhere."
Drawing in a breath, releasing it inside the thick leather of her mask, Zaki takes another step forward. She's within striking range now, and her arm leaves her torso, the chain dangling between them as she thrusts a finger forward, pointing down the line between her eyes and Daniel's.
"You blame me for wanting to break that cycle? Breaking a bad habit is difficult. Saving the world isn't as easy as a handful of heroes punching a tyrant in the face. The rot in this society is insipid, it infests every pore; from the openly guilty to the tainted 'innocent' wearing a smile won in blood. You see destruction, we see cleansing. Abobo's men? They're the ones we're hunting. Those who get in our way should know what they're doing; the people of Sunshine know about us. They see us, they hear us. If they get hurt..."
Her finger lowers, the chain rattling once more as her hand returns to her side, clenching to a fist.
"It's their own fault. Their own choice. We'll clear out of Sunshine as soon as Abobo falls to /his/ knees. As soon as I drop a big bastard with a crown and a snake tattoo, I'll be happy that good's been done. You ask if I love this?" She scoffs, "I'm not sure I 'love' anything in this world. But I've got a whole lotta hate, old man, hate I use-- hate I /aim/. If you want to help me aim it, and sort out the Black Serpent? Let's do it. But if you stand in my way, you'll be crushed like anybody else. Your choice, not mine."
She takes one final step, so close to Daniel they could envelop each other in violence within an instant...
Making it very clear; he's in her way right now. His move.
"It's so much more than that, Zaki."
Daniel Jack responds to the girl in her face with his own surge of intensity. Daniel lacked the presence of many, but he had his own inner flame, that inner passion that he kept under the cool exterior. That burning spirit of Todoh might be familiar to those who had the fortune of knowing Kasumi... and the misfortune of knowing Ryuhaku. One thing was clear, though.
The detective was no longer easy to intimidate.
"But at least, it means we are on the same side. I'm after Abobo as well. I'm after the Black Dragon; the people I thought YOU were. But I can see you are not petty watch thieves. You are avengers, fighting for liberation." Daniel Jack was smooth talking his way again. "We are really on the same side, in the end. I'm glad I found you here. If I followed my next lead, it might have been... well, we might not be on such glowing terms as we are now." The detective continues to stare into Zaki's eyes, not backing down. "I am sorry, however, that I might have to do something that you aren't used to. I gotta correct you, Zaki."
"Society didn't ask for you."
The detective's eyes cooly continue to fix into Zaki. "You are choosing to do this, don't you dare disavow this to some movement, to. I live in Gedo Street, I've talked to the boys there. The only difference between you and them is that Gedo High doesn't justify themselves with some anarcho-feminist claptrap on women empowerment. I'm wondering why all this hate. I thought it was Seijyun High, their beliefs on what a proper young lady should be." The detective lowers his voice to a whisper.
"But there is something special about you. Something that cuts deeper to the bone. Something... I don't want to mention around your gang members. The two people that were missing in the news report. The two people missing here, missing in every single word you make, every single ideal you hold up. The only two people I have never seen around you, Zaki, that should be there. My next lead, if I did not reach you." The detective softens his eyes at Zaki, dropping the whisper lower and lower.
"... Your parents."
There's a common misconception amongst even those who know Aoi quite well; that she hates everybody over a certain age, that no adult is redeemable in her eyes. This isn't precisely the case. Rampant, closed-minded stupidity drives her to a sneering rage that few can match, ignorance and endless repetition of the same tired bullshit a blight that too many are affected by. Any who embrace such mannerisms - though often worshipped by the collective for their stalwart beliefs - generally turn her stomach and turbo-charge her vitriol.
That sort of stubbornness is a commonly adult trait. Most youths will be bull-headed up until the point they strike a wall, may continue to act that way even when trapped and pressed most convincingly; but somewhere, the lesson breaks through. They're always learning, adapting, growing, becoming something better with each passing day. The number of elders who may claim the same are woefully thin. Somewhere in their early to mid-twenties, people begin to wrap their decisions in concrete. They consider themselves 'complete'. They're idiots.
Were she conversing with Ryuhaku Todoh, this would be a brawl already.
But Daniel Jack... she doesn't like him, not at all, but he interests her.
He's right; she's not corrected very often. Teachers don't bother any more, simply do their best to disregard her harrowing figure as it passes through their field of vision and experience. She likes it that way. In her subordinates, she likes them to follow her lead - learn from her, as she learns and improves, which she certainly does in spite of her convictions. Others tend to attempt it only during a fight, when they're 'winning', when they have an upper hand and believe that gives them some inherent superiority. They're fools.
"My parents?"
Beneath the choking leather, Aoi is grinning. She's enjoying this. In an echo back to the earlier meeting with Hamada - who's doing fine, by the way, busying herself smelling some flowers at this precise moment - the sukeban begins to laugh, a low and dry chuckle that barely rises from that position. Thumping with basso resonance from behind her mask, it carries an eerie effect that would intimidate most people, at this point. Not the private eye, though, she's sure of that; he may be many things, but he's not an idiot or a fool.
That estimation is the highest of praise, from Zaki.
"You can't threaten me through them," she says as her creepy laughter peals away, tossing her head to watch him once more down the harsh expanse of buckled black, "But it's admirable that you'd try. They know what I am; they live their lives in denial, ask me to wrap myself in a frilly dress once in a while, assume my actions are a phase - that I'll become the daughter they need, one day. That shrivelled old hag believes she'll marry me to a fine young man in the years to come; my father, he probably thinks I'll follow him into business. Denial is a powerful emotion, Daniel Jack, a very fucking powerful emotion. I don't deal with it, though..."
Tailing off, she draws a breath and then moves to step around him. Light, casual, almost teasing.
If it weren't Zaki, it might look vaguely flirtatious. She'll stop at his flank even if he doesn't stop her.
"So yes, this is my choice. Maybe I chose my words wrong, hm? Society didn't 'make' me, it /didn't/ ask for me. But I'm a product of a nation that needs something more, that requires women who don't just simper, and men not so comfortable in their occupance as the foremost gender that they become fat and complacent. That they turn to war and localized brutality because there's no other form of challenge for them. Don't you see, Daniel Jack?" She seems to enjoy saying his name, and utters another dark chuckle. "You coming here? It's because what I do /works/. It has an effect. You've already changed your attitude, and formed a new opinion of me."
"That said," she changes tack suddenly, leaning back into her heels and spinning to face the P.I. Notably, he's now got a clear run past her toward the dormitories. She's not bothering to surround him. This isn't a fight. If this weren't already clear in the symbolism, her arm folds once more across her pile of books, actually supporting them somewhat; a rare sign of 'weakness', that. "We're in this together. So what are /your/ terms?"
"Oh, I wasn't going to threaten you through them."
Daniel Jack keeps his stance centered, the unusual sight in Seijyun continuing to keep his composure.He doesn't stop Zaki, no. If a woman wants to be strong, let her be strong. If she wants to be weak, let her be weak. "What kind of guy do you take me for? I just didn't know what kind of story I would get from them. Denial is a powerful thing. I've seen that first hand. I use it myself, to tell the truth"
"Ignorance really can be strength."
The detective watches Zaki, following her- oh please tell him that he wasn't flirting. Unphazed, he continues. "I see what you mean. I came here expecting trouble, and a whole lot different kind of woman. But I like you Zaki. There is a certain fire in you, a certain drive that I respect." The detective scratches his neck.
"Man, you are just like Kasumi, in too many ways."
Daniel Jack continues, looking around idly, sighing even. "I watch the same thing within the Todoh family. Kasumi becomes more and more like her father every day. Can you imagine? In 20 years, Kasumi Todoh will be running around the world, mad as a hatter. Just like her father. You can imagine the terror it strikes in the heart of her mother? That's why Kasumi is here, at this school. Because her mother doesn't want her to become like her father. Ryuhaku is... hard on the woman. If it wasn't for the obediant loyalty that she idealizes, the entire family would be in tatters, the dojo would be in tatters... and who knows where Kasumi might be."
"She might be nothing more than a desperate street hooligan, fighting with whatever weapons she could get her hands on."
The detective nods at Zaki, smirking. "But if this is your choice, then I think you chose well for now. As for terms... I'm a laid back man, Zaki. And an independent one at that. I got a team of my own in the wings, and what I am after are the Black Dragons. And I suspect this Abobo is at the heart of it. I was told by a trusted source that he is the gang leader, and I want to track him down, and find the end of this trail. What YOU can do to help me is to tell me if you have wind and way about Abobo, and let me hunt him down. Breaking Abobo will only drive him into hiding. I want to get the truth out of him. Once I find the end of this trail, and get that watch back..."
"Then we can bring down those gangs together."
His attitude is admirable, by the standard of his kind. Not what Aoi expected, given the term 'private investigator'; those words carry with them the reputation of a meddler, a snoop, a deceptive conniver. He's probing into her business, but there's an element of respect in it. That's unusual. It's new. Most people like him, they either loathe or fear the sukeban, making no effort to understand what she is, or why.
He voices what she's thinking, or something similar; a concession she refuses to make.
He also compares her to...
"Kasumi?" Zaki's lip curls beneath the mask, a mixture of disdain and amusement twisting her unseen expression into one that would be tough to read even were it visible. Where some of the younger girls hold her in a regard only surpassed by the three acknowledged 'top dogs' of Seijyun, a handful perhaps higher than some, the fact remains that she stands apart from Aoi and her Ladies' Team. She's had an offer; several, even, for her skill and the unyielding attitude she exemplifies. In another world, they'd undoubtedly be friends. Distance lies between them, as it stands, and a competitive element that cannot be denied.
"We're all here for the same reason, in the end. I suppose we have our similarities."
It's spoken with a chill, bitter edge that reflects much within Zaki's mind. That she feels repressed and sidelined by the society that would form her into a perfect flower - her namesake, even - goes without further stating, but she acknowledges why it happens. He says she's made her own choice, and he's right; NOT to embrace it, but to use what she's given to forge something else. Something new. Kasumi isn't a revolutionary, she's keeping the form of her teachings and simply striving to carry them higher. Better. It's not worthy of dismissal, but neither does it impress the sukeban particularly. It's unimaginative. But--
"You respect her, though? Good. She deserves that. She's strong."
"Abobo probably is too. People who command respect and loyalty do so because they've earned it, whether through strength or terror. Visionaries, ambitious types, men and women who just keep getting stronger - even without a greater purpose - they're the ones who others follow. They're the ones you need to watch." Naturally, including herself. Slowly she inclines her head to Daniel, meeting his gaze for a long moment. "If you can face me, on my turf, on my terms, then I believe you can face him. I'll help you. We'll help each other. It's... a deal."
Most people would extend a hand at this point, or make some other gesture. Sealing it. Pledging their trust physically, as well as through words and motions. Zaki sees no need. They've won each other's trust, or one of them would be hurting the other right now. The three girls nearby would be at their action stations. There'd be trouble, mess, and pain. They've already shaken all the hands they need to, mentally, and psychologically. Aoi lifts her chin and begins to move away, taking enough steps to carry her past Hamada, who glances up.
"As for my 'story'?" She twists upon her heel, presenting her flank as she stares Daniel down sidelong. Vulpine blue eyes narrow to slits... but beneath the mask, she smiles. "I'm just getting started on that, and it's got nothing to do with my parents; it's barely got anything to do with this school. A story begins when the author chooses. I'll choose when it starts, just like I'll choose where it ends. A person has to seize their destiny."
She doesn't say it, but the word 'alone' resonates through all the others, like a cancer.
"But this chapter, we'll write together. Give Hamada your details. I'll get in touch."
Turning away from the private eye with a swish of her skirts and that jagged ponytail, Zaki turns to leave.
Daniel Jack has changed a lot. A few years ago, this would have ended in a fight, with Daniel Jack being tossed over the wall of Seijyun, an unconscious mess. The detective was a fierce fighter, better than he was years ago. But he had something else now, grown from his experience. Words could be stronger than fists, and with Daniel Jack, his words were often stronger than his fists. He couldn't have fought the Ladies Team, or even Zaki.
But working with them was the real end he was after.
Keeping his composure high, he crosses his arms. "Abobo will be nothing, with all my friends at my back. We will break him, and the chaos in Sunshine will cease. Thank you, Zaki." The detective bows his head in respect. As she walks away, the detective lets loose a cryptic phrase. They were in agreement, in respect. That was a good place to be. Zaki might have a negative opinion on men. It meant a lot to Daniel that he manged to get past it. "The beginning of a story is always the easiest to choose. The journey is the easiest to write. But the ending... that is the true test, Zaki. Nobody knows where the ending of their story is... nor do they know who will write it."
Daniel Jack then turns to Hamada, and her two 'friends.'
"Hamada. I gotta say, that may have been the best Welcoming Committee I've gotten. You are good at your job." The detective reaches into his suit jacket, drawining something from near the hip. "I don't do it myself anymore. But you never know when these are useful." Drawing it out, he shows it to the trio. A pack of cigarettes. "Dunno if you girls smoke. But I always remember to bring a pack for the Gedo kids" The detective begins to tap the pack, bringing out a cigarette, passing it around, looking at the quiet two.
"Lets talk turkey, 'dude'."
Those 'friends' that the P.I. speaks of, that's something Zaki will need to ask about. But for now she's not bothered about anything more than leaving - she's spoken her piece, he's spoken his, and they've reached an understanding. It's more business than she intended to conduct today; on her way back to Sunshine with study material in hand, to ensure her ability to return and pass her exams whilst still conducting what she considers the more important aspect of her life. It's a little known fact that Aoi studies...
Daniel's probably the first male to find out, if predominantly by observation.
His words resonate in her ears but go unacknowledged. She's gone, leaving Hamada to very swiftly reassume her role. She's back on her feet - a flower now tucked behind her ear alongside the fringe of that garish bandanna - and facing Daniel before he shifts his attention to her. Despite being talkative and chirpy, she appears to know her place very well, not speaking again until she's spoken to. Which she does with a big ol' grin as she reaches out to take the proferred smoke, though all she does for the moment is spin it around her fingers. One of the other pair glances toward her, as the other seems to retreat even further into silence, merely raising a palm outward toward the investigator. It takes all sorts to form a workable gang.
"Turkey?" She echoes, giving the cigarette a flick up into the air before catching it and resuming spinning. "I prefer chicken, dude, but we need to do business one way or another, right? Hey, Nagatsuka!" That goes off to the other teen looking her way, and the smoke is suddenly aimed like a missile right between the eyes. It's an impressive throw, straight from the wrist with unerring accuracy-- which the other answers by snatching it out of the air and planting it between her lips. She doesn't light it though; garden's not the place.
On Hamada's part, the cig is quickly replaced by another article drawn from her sleeve - a business card.
"All my deets are on here, but you'll want Manami's; she's been in charge of the Sunshine operation. They're on the back. Get in touch with her and you'll be able to reach Zaki. She doesn't carry a phone, but we know where she is!" Accompanied by a massive, friendly smile, Hamada thrusts the card forth, her other hand dipping into a pocket to withdraw the sharpened stub of a pencil. "Now show me yours and we'll get rocking!"
Eager to help, probably aided even further by the compliment she's been paid, the girl bounces on her heels.
Daniel is the first for many woman.
Well, at least with their secrets, their hidden sides. Diesel's femininity. Juri's mercy. Daniel Jack just had that nature that made people reveal their secrets. It might be because Daniel Jack didn't have a background of stabbing people in the back. He -worked- with people, not against him. Even villainous organizations had a respect for the seemingly foolish detective when they learned of his dangerously savvy side. He was sharp as a tack.
And in the end, looking out for everyone.
As the detective works back with the manic pixie girl, he doesn't even correct her. The detective wasn't gonna be caught flatfooted by a manic girl. He just nods steadily, trying to keep up. It was Gedo Street all over again. It really did take all types. Daniel worked well with all types. Zaki was already a memory of the man. He had another ally in tracking down the Black Dragons. Whoever the mysterious organization was, the detective was going to have a whole army on his or her footstep. The perky girl suddenly lashes out with her own exchange.
Business cards.
Daniel Jack actually looks startled. Egg white. Smooth. Professional. A new sense of respect came over the detective. Zaki ran a tight and effecient ship. The detective saw a bright future for the woman, if she ran a gang like this. Danny is almost forlorn when he struggles into his jacket, putting away the card... and drawing out his own. Lame. Offfice Depot stock. "And here is mine, dude. I'll be all over the place, between here and Sunshine City. Give me a call, and at least 24 hours. And keep me up to date if you learn anything about Abobo!" The detective looks around. "There is one last thing, I need to do, mind you."
"I still have that message for Kasumi."
Presentation is everything. Daniel shouldn't be surprised by that; he spotted it, after all, seeing through the modified uniform and the stern, cruel mask that hides most - if not entirely all - of the sukeban's emotions. Hamada notes his look and breaks out in a giggle for her own part. Not quite mocking, so much as simply amused... she doesn't seem to hide anything from the world, quite the opposite of Zaki herself.
His own card is taken and deposited back in one of her uniform's well-concealed pockets, along with the unnecessary pencil, as she bobs her head along to his instructions. She doesn't spend long looking at it - it barely got a glance before being deposited, as though this judgement were not hers to make. It's another sign of the trust that Daniel has built already, in having the sheer moxy to be the way he has, for being honest. At least so far as the gang of unorthodox schoolgirls can tell; there's always that chance they're wrong...
Hamada seems flightly and unconcerned about any such possibility though, or at least trusts Zaki's judgement enough not to require any such concern in the first place. She smiles and nods her head one last time with a, "Twenty four hours? Got it, chief!" Like the 'dude', that's in English. Maybe he's gained a rank? She does pair it with a snappy little salute, though completely fails to straighten up, losing something from the formal standard. "And uh, let's be fair here," she leans in suddenly, dropping her voice to a stage whisper, conspiratorially throwing out a wink, "You /came/ to talk to Kasumi-senpai, right? Nothing else happened..."
Her minxlike grin comes with a positively blinding twinkle as she leans away and gestures grandly toward the dorms. Despite the playfulness, she's back in the mode she clearly adopted when first approaching. The Welcome Committee at her - their - full force.
"You'll find her meditating in room thirty two, Jack-san! It's been a pleasure to serve you today!"
When he comes out, all three will be gone. The Ladies' Team has had their say, and he's earned his safe passage. Mission complete.
If Daniel was manipulating them, he didn't even recognize it.
The detective stands up, looking for the others. Chief? He liked the sound of it. It had a nice ring. Too bad Daniel would never be part of a gang, or a police department. His path was a lonely one. Well, in theory. With all the people on the way, he might find it much more crowded than he once thought. "Kasumi is right on the nose.Room 32? Thanks, Hamada. You are a real doll." As his new companion leave, the detective departs as well. His time in paradise was short. And he wasn't lying when he had to tell Kasumi a secret. A truth.
That her father was spotted again, in Metro City.
Log created on 18:03:07 05/16/2012 by Zaki, and last modified on 23:41:21 05/17/2012.