[Day 5 - Mid Evening] In Need of a Fixer (Closed)

[Bayushi Mariko]

With that bit of show and tell over with, Mariko would casually settle her foot back on the ground and fix her skirt. Her expression was serious and focused on the matter as she straightened her posture. She gave a quick fix of her hair with a slow release of her breath and nodded, putting on her resting game face. It looked like it was going to be showtime.

"I trust you to have the best judgment on what to do." She nodded and made her way to the door behind Rei before she stopped to look at him. Her gaze looked at him up and down, more out of concern than anything. "How are you doing with all of this?"

(Please roll Investigation (Interrogation)/Perception or Awareness vs TN 59.)

[Usagi Rei]

The moment passed. Rei stepped back, giving her the space to move by him.

"Me? I'm fine." So far as he could tell, everything about Mariko was genuine. Still, he couldn't shake the slightly queasy feeling as he thought back over his memories with Yuria. In every one, she seemed happy, seemed in love with him. It was only knowing the ending that tainted those memories.

Steadily, he gave her a nod. "Let's go."

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D5ME, Inv/Per, +1k0 Witchfinder, +0k1 if it is lies (will note manually) | 7k3 ⇒ 23 (TN: 59), 28 if lies

[Bayushi Mariko]

There was a moment of hesitation in Mariko as she stood at the door, her eyes seemed to sweep over him to just the quality of his person (maybe). It was as if she wondered if she should call this plan off and send him on his way. It could have gone almost any avenue once she opened that door again. However, he was in this now and both of them were. Her gaze would look as she opened the door and put her heels on the concrete to walk forward.

On the streets, would make her toward the destination without looking back or giving any hint that she had knowledge of being tailed. It was a convincing enough act. Not too confident to make it seem like she had a plan and a little bit anxious, perhaps the persona of someone who just wanted to get this over and done with. She would subtly reach for the communicator in her bag and ring up Rei without looking.

"Mi-234 and Fu-10..." she murmured, perhaps both reminding herself and telling Rei.

There were other people in the streets that went about their business, seemingly not paying too much mind to Mariko or Rei and giving them plenty of cover to just be two people handling a situation privately.

[Usagi Rei]

Rei didn't follow her directly. There wasn't any need to. After all, he knew where she was going; he just had to get close to there. Still, he did his best to keep eyes on her. After all, instead of blackmail, this could be a kidnapping attempt, and there was nothing that said that they couldn't grab her early.

"Copy." Rei responded before muting his mic. He could turn it back on if needed, but it wouldn't do to possibly have sound coming from her person unexpectedly.

Rei wasn't such a good actor as her, so he just tried to walk casually, hands in his pockets, sometimes glancing in shop windows. Sometimes trying to spot anyone else suspicious as he moved closer to the destination...

[Bayushi Mariko]

As they proceeded further on, there might have been some people who did eventually glance in their direction. A pretty lady in a dress had to catch some attention. There were some glances at Rei too. However, neither were doing anything wrong or suspicious, yet.

Mariko would make her way to the stated intersection. There were and weren't people there. That was so that nobody stuck out entirely and nobody was waiting there for them, only various people passing by much like they were. She would make her way over to one of the city displays they had for tourists, showing them a map of the area. Her gaze would look cautiously at the passing car to see if any of them would stop. She had seen and been in some movies to know that there might be an attempted grab there.

After what seemed like an uncomfortable moment, especially when expecting something to happen, she would speak to Rei. "...I'm here, nothing is happening yet."

(Make an investigation/perception (notice) at TN15!)

[Usagi Rei]

Rei stopped a bit away, leaning against a wall and lighting a cigarette. If there were fewer people, he might have done without that, but blending in was more important than being invisible.

Idly, he smoked it, even as he kept watch. Noting people here and there. Watching cars as she did.

This was the part Rei was good at. His pale eyes narrowed as he swept the area...

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D5ME, Keeping a watch for Mariko Inv/Per, +1k0 Witchfinder, TN 15 | 7k3 ⇒ 29 (TN: 15)

[Bayushi Mariko]

Mariko stood around rather impatiently, perhaps feeling uncomfortable that she was potentially being toyed with or wanting to grab some semblance of control of the situation. She crossed her arms and found herself anxiously circling around the large holographic display until she saw some shady ronin walk by without much regard. "Do you think it's that guy?"

However, Rei perhaps spotted something that was more telling and obvious. Perhaps just several steps away from where Mariko was standing, there was a long lineup of vending machines. They sold things like portable miso soup or instant noodles. More than a few of them were machines that sold beer. however, one of them was a soft drink machine and looked like it hadn't been attended to for a while, especially when it has fallen prey to some graffiti. It was hard to miss the graffiti saying "Wakaranai" on it.

[Usagi Rei]

Since no one seemed to be close enough, Rei keyed his microphone back on. "I don't think so. You're doing fine. Just stay cool. Remember, I've got my eyes on the situation too." His modulated voice was reassuring.

Speaking of... his eyes narrowed as he spotted the graffiti, his mind instantly connecting it with the message she'd shown him. It was definitely related. Most likely directions to the next meeting point... Rei grimaced.

"That old soda machine. It's got Wakaranai scrawled on it. Check it out." Rei said.

[Bayushi Mariko]

"What, now?" Mariko said with a bit of annoyance before she looked around to see what he was talking about. With an exasperated sigh, she glared over at the machine. It was unlikely it was going to end here. "...great."

She gingerly made her way over to the vending machine and looked over it, as well as behind her from time to time if someone was going to appear out of nowhere. Perhaps trying anything, she pressed a few buttons to see if anything was going to come out or if a magical door was going to open. Eventually, she would duck slightly and carefully put her hand into the slot to search it. "...there...ugh...I think there's a note here."

With that, she pulled out what looked like a roll of paper. Treating it like it was a disgusting piece of refuse, she carefully unfolded it to find another message. She read it out loud so that Rei would know its contents. "...Good, you made it. I can see you from here. You look very...*ugh*. Now, I want you to throw your communicator into the machine...and come to the Kakugokuya. 9th floor...room 912. Do not take the elevator, stairs only..."

[Usagi Rei]

Breath hissed though Rei's teeth. "That's not great. I can still follow you, but I'd have to close the distance to make sure I could see and hear. Stairway is dangerous too..."

He bit his lip. "I could try to find another way up another way in, but I don't want to take eyes off you for too long, in case they try to grab you en route."

He took a deep breath. "I think we should carry on. Unless you've got something to fake them with, like a spare communicator. Better to risk me being spotted than something happening to you."

[Bayushi Mariko]

Mariko visibly glowered at this twist as she circled around in her place, trying to see if she could see who was exactly looking at her. There were too many tall buildings with multiple windows. It was near impossible to find the vantage point of this stalker, if he was even looking at her, to begin with. "I'm not going to walk nine flights of stairs, for one. And yeah, the stairs are too dangerous. Not going to risk it."

Her gaze followed a few cars nearby that drove past as soon as the light turned green. "...I get the feeling if he wanted to grab me in the streets, it would happen by now. I don't know. Let me see..."

She sighed and reached in her bag. There was an attempt to make it look like she was putting her communicator in the vending machine, despite her ultimately holding on to it. It was a pretty bad magic trick, perhaps she would have better luck with eggs? "...there."

[Usagi Rei]

"i could see that from where I was." Rei said, frowning.

He sighed. "We could take the elevator. These things always have some give and take. Or I could go first up the stairs. Following first is what that's called." Being the person in front could confuse people looking for a tail.

Another sigh. "Just so long as we stay close. If I don't have eyes or ears on you, you're in danger. I could rush ahead to the room, but I don't like it."

A frown as a thought occurred. "He's watching... maybe he'd intervene if I mugged you? It's a risky plan, but it might pay off." Probably better to carry on, but he'd give her the option.

[Bayushi Mariko]

Mariko frowned when her magic trick had a critique and didn't opt to give it another try. It seemed she was stubborn about potentially losing a communicator, especially when it was a newer model with her information on it. "Well, I did something."

With that business done, she started to make her way toward the Kakugokuya. Her walk showed that there was intent to go to the destination, although it was so brisk that she was going to get there in a hurry. She figured that she was stalling enough at the corner and they could talk about their next plan as she walked. A part of her might have lost patience a while ago as soon as things went in a different direction. "...Is there a plan where I take the elevator? Do you think he's keeping tabs on that? Couldn't you just charge in first and take him out or something? You going first might be a good idea either way. We know where he is, supposedly."

[Usagi Rei]

Rei took a breath. If she was frustrated, he needed to be calm. "Maybe it'll be enough. And besides, he's only got one card to play. He'll need to be really, really sure before he plays it."

With them remaining in conversation, he didn't need to follow her too closely. He leisurely finished up his cigarette before pushing off of the wall, brushing off, and walking, his Hare legs moving him quickly. "He may. We can take the elevator together. Just... make a show of not knowing me. I'll say something and you can brush me off."

Rei frowned. Right, probably time to turn on his Holorecorder. He could erase if it it turned out bad. He did so. "This is probably where he is. And yeah, I can lead the way. We'll take the elevator up, I'll rush ahead." He frowned. "But while I can maybe neutralize him, I don't want to take him out unless he's a threat. Retrieving whatever he's got on you is the first priority."

Meanwhile, he hurried along.

[Bayushi Mariko]

"Taking the elevator together might be too obvious...Is he going to fall for it?" Mariko said on an unsure note after bouncing so many ideas at once. She took a glance around at her surroundings as if she was expecting something to leap at her at any moment. The Kakugokuya itself wasn't very far, considering it was one of the buildings in the view from the corner where Mariko got the second message. It was probably a three-block walk. She found herself picking up speed with her walk before slowing down once more. It seemed the situation might have begun to strain her quite a bit.

"...Was the communicator thing really that bad? Maybe I should have really dropped it off. This isn't going well already," she said with a frustrated huff as she barely stopped herself from looking back to see if Rei was still with her. "Right, of course. I like that idea. You should probably go first and I'll catch up to you. How about I just meet you there when the coast is clear?"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei grit his teeth together. Who was more foolish, the person who trusted no one, or the person who trusted everyone? Rei had the sudden feeling that he was both, and all the more foolish for it. He could feel the two instincts warring painfully in his gut. But the greater was that he'd make a mistake, and that someone he cared about would come to harm.

"Okay." Rei said shortly. "But be careful. Please." He said, real feeling in the intensity of his tone. And yet, he couldn't cast her more than the barest of glances as he continued onward. A fond glance, a cheerful smile, a gaze promising more, any of that could give the game away.

And so, watching only with his peripheral vision, Rei pushed on ahead, walking with quick determination now. To the building, up the elevator, and to the designated room. He could only hope this was the right thing.

[Boogiepop]

Despite her frustration at the situation, perhaps the intensity from Rei caught her off-guard enough to mollify her from getting too overwhelmed. She merely would give a few nods as she kept walking to their mutual destination. While Rei passed by her, she would remain the trained actress she was not spare even so much of a look. She didn't get this far in her career if she was liable to look into the camera, so to speak.

Rei would enter the Kakugokuya hotel without incident. Despite being a hotel you can rent by the hour, it was kept in pristine condition. It was a bit eerie had it had no human staff to attend to visitors. There was only a long row of operational vending machines and a few consoles that would manage the room rentals, each of them separated with a black glass divider for more privacy. The hotel also had a large multitude of entrances too to ensure that visitors don't run into each other if they don't need to. The elevator ride was quick and would take Rei up to the room without meeting anyone else. Maybe each respective elevator was programmed to not take stops while it was being used.

Room 912. Rei would arrive at the floor and the designated room would be found at the end of the hallway. The door to the room would be slightly ajar with a box of contraceptives from the vending machine to keep it from fully closing.

[Usagi Rei]

Cautious but determined, his jaw set, Rei covered the ground quickly. Although, not so quickly that he'd leave Mariko far behind. He hoped this wasn't a trick, a method to separate her from him. Or a trap laid for him. Layers upon possible layers...

Contraceptives. Classy. Rei's lips twisted in disgust. Unfortunately, the ajar door rather suggested that the room was empty. Or, at least, the person they were looking for wasn't there. A quick glance to look for a tripwire or something, and Rei pulled the door open, stepping inside.

Ready for... almost anything.

[Boogiepop]

Each door in the hotel was fitted with a self-closing mechanism, it seemed. The item was just a bit enough to stop that from happening. However, true to his sense, there seemed to be nobody there once he got further into the room. All of the lights in the room were lit, including the bathroom. There was an obvious stillness in the air that indicated the room was completely vacated. The only thing that was perhaps unusual in the room was a singular paper note that was stuck to the communication system on the wall. It had a simple message on it that said...

ⓦ𝕒ίｔ

[Usagi Rei]

Rei pulled it his holorecorder for a quick sweep. Putting it away (still on), he brought his comms to his lips.

"It's empty. Just a note to wait, on the comms." Rei's voice was a whisper. "Confirm status." He turned the volume down and brought the comms to his ear. All the better to keep any sound that would give away that he wasn't Mariko from being overheard.

And then he waited.