The bustling of the Copper Arm Tavern ran rampant throughout its refurbished bar. Kokichi's propositions had not gone unnoticed by the general public, and the tavern that night would be a climax for the outburst of activity that followed it; fights, arguments, and, if the ambulance wasn't called fast enough, possibly death, were going to be problems faced all night. Mondo sighed as the patrons began to get rowdy. As much as he'd have liked to join in, he had a duty as the owner of the establishment to hold up. In addition, several of his patrons were machines – androids, cyborgs, and robots. A pair stood near the door, talking to each other – a young cyborg male in his early to mid-20s, dressed sharply in a black and white suit with a red tie, talking affectionately to an android female – possibly a few years old, though kept in good condition, dressed in a black and red French maid's dress, a white headband adorning her hair and head. However, the affection between the two soon disappeared, becoming replaced with more business-like talk.

"Are you at all worried about the new laws being put in place?" Chiaki asked, readjusting the cuff on her sleeve.
"I don't see a reason to be. Sure, things look bad, but remaining hopeful is the one thing I can do in this situation." Nagito responded, running a metal hand gently through his hair – his hands kept beneath white gloves to avoid catching hair or skin while he did this, though his metallic jaw made his condition all too obvious.
"I know… hope can carry you far. Still, we don't know exactly what Ouma's going to put in place." Chiaki replied, dusting off her apron before folding her hands together in front of it.
"I don't think he'd risk falling out of the public's favour when he's only just arrived in office. This is usually the time where, rather than simply being annulled or impeached, unpopular candidates are usually assassinated." Nagito chuckled, before he paused as Chiaki frowned at the mention of assassination. Nagito coughed, before continuing. "Do you think Celes will arrive soon?"
Chiaki seemed almost relieved due to the change of topic. "I hope so… she's not usually late, so she can't be that far away."

As if on cue, the door beside the pair opened, Celes walking through among a pair of taller patrons, though she had no relation to them, or even a remote interest in them. Though the patrons immediately headed towards the bar, Celes' path took her to Nagito and Chiaki.
"Good evening. I trust you're doing well?" Nagito greeted with a smile, to which Celes presented one of her own.
"Wonderful, thank you." She responded, though her tone was at least slightly forced. "Has anyone requested a game against me tonight?"
"One man has so far. He looks to be in his 40s, brownish-red hair, dressed in a red suit. He's requested darts." Chiaki informed, before screwing her face up a little and providing a tidbit of her own personal thoughts. "Also, he seriously needs to invest in dental hygiene."
Celes sighed disdainfully at Chiaki's description, before shaking her head. "Well, let's see him."

"Evening." The man said as Nagito and Chiaki introduced Celes to him, holding out his hand and giving a wide smile – and Celes instantly agreed with Chiaki's comment on the condition of his mouth, several of the man's teeth were orange or even starting to go black. With a forced smile, Celes greeted him back, with Nagito taking the handshake in her place.
"… Good evening. So, you wished to play darts against me?" Celes asked, continuing to smile politely, though forcedly – quite clearly forcedly.
"Your understanding is as sharp as you and your friends here are dressed, Ms Ludenberg." The man responded, before bowing and taking a seat at one of the tables. "Haru Akihiro, your opponent this evening."
"I trust I will not have to introduce myself, you seem to know who I am. Very well, let us begin." Celes mimicked his gesture; the second one, anyway, of seating herself on the opposite side of the table.
"Before we do, Ms Ludenberg," Haru trailed off, before shoving a bottle towards her – the contents dark even in the tavern's decent lighting, though the bottle already clearly opened, even with the cork replaced. "Consider this a gesture of goodwill before we begin."

Celes frowned as the drink was shoved towards her, unable to hide her distrust; perhaps unwilling to hide her distrust.
"I can see your concern, Ms Ludenberg. Don't fret. It's non-alcoholic wine." Haru replied, smiling warmly – though the state of his mouth made it quite repulsive. Celes briefly turned towards Nagito and Chiaki, before responding with a smile. "If I may have a moment, I'll take a drink once I know whether my companions would be happy having one as well."
"Your friends are more than welcome to share a drink with you." Haru replied.

The three turned their backs to Haru, keeping their voices to a whisper, though Celes made sure to keep her gestures to her lie.
"I don't trust this man as far as I could throw him, and I couldn't even lift him." She admitted, though faced Nagito as she did so. Nagito shook his head, assisting with the lie the three were putting on.
"You shouldn't. He's lying, that drink's almost 50% alcohol. I took a quick scan once he presented it over. I don't know what he's planning, but if it requires you drinking that much alcohol, it can't be good."
"And uh, miss Nanami?" Celes said, raising her voice, before lowering it again. "I'll have it under control soon, don't worry."
"Alright…" Chiaki replied, before shaking her own head. With a smile, the three turned back to Haru.

"I've talked it over with my companions." Celes began, gently leaning over towards the bottle, placing her hand on its neck as she pulled the cork out, far too easily. "They don't want a drink… and quite frankly, neither do I." With that, Celes set a fire spell into action, the fire leeching into the bottle through the remnants of alcohol on the bottle. Celes pulled away as the glass bottle became the host to a small bonfire, and as it seemingly melted away Haru's smile.

"… So, did you still wish to play darts?" Celes asked with a knowing giggle, as Haru stood up. After standing up, Haru knocked the table onto its face, shattering the remnants of burning glass across the tiled floor.
"You little bitch! How could you have possibly known what was in that bottle?!" He hissed, making his way towards Celes, walking over the tipped table.
"Oi!" A loud, booming voice called across the tavern, silencing almost every conversation occurring by startling the participants. "You think you can just fuck around, knock over whatever you want, and bring your own fuckin' alcohol into my tavern?!" Mondo shouted, pushing past patrons as he ran towards Haru. "Leave, damnit!"
Haru didn't need to be told twice; one look at Mondo's physique and rage sent him limping out of the door, disappearing into the evening.

"An assassination attempt, or simply someone trying to get what nobody can? Tch… I guess that'll remain a mystery I don't care about." Celes stated, shaking her head, as Chiaki flipped the table back onto its legs, being careful to avoid the shattered bottle.
"Yo, thanks." Mondo stated, before helping Chiaki with the broken glass from the bottle, gathering pieces of it into a dustpan and brush.

"An interesting display, Celestia." A voice called out, prompting Celes and Nagito to turn in its direction. The two laid eyes on a young man possessing greenish-blonde hair, and eyes of the same colour. His neck, wrists, and fingers were adorned with various cheap necklaces, bracelets, and rings, and his clothes seemed basic- a sweater and a pair of beige slacks. He greeted the two with a smile, though seemed vaguely cautious.
"I'll take that as a compliment, sir." Celes responded, a hand starting to twist a piece of her hair.
"Ah, my apologies. Allow me to introduce myself." The man waved. "My name is Rantaro Amami. Of course, you're a high-ranking diplomat, so few people in Lagaard don't know who you are."
"And your point about my job is? Are you here to play a game, or simply waste my time?" Celes sighed, as Nagito frowned, looking Rantaro over. Something about how casual he was, yet how he also seemed formal, just seemed… off.
"Well, I haven't any interest in darts, though if you would be willing to play a game of chess…" Rantaro offered.
"… We'll flip a coin to decide who plays white." Celes concluded, accepting the challenge after a few moments of thinking.

A round of bets placed by tavern-goers, Rantaro losing the coin toss, and two hours later, the two players appeared to be locked in a stalemate. Though Celes' mental capabilities were staggering, luck gave her an edge that couldn't be beaten – an edge she unfortunately lost in games relying on pure strategy. It seemed neither Rantaro nor Celes could beat the other.
"… It's fairly obvious neither of us can beat the other. Want to call it a tie?" Rantaro offered, shrugging.
"It isn't going to look good on my record here, but neither is 'passed out during a chess game'. Tie." Celes responded, looking vaguely bored. Her interest in Rantaro had been rapidly declining for the last 90 minutes, and as she stood up from the table, she seemed to be more eager than usual to leave the tavern.

"I thought that game wouldn't end for another three hours... if at all. It was basically a king chase at that point." Chiaki admitted, as she pushed herself through the tavern's doors.
"… Hey, Chiaki, can you accompany Celes home on your own tonight? There's something about that Amami guy that… well, it doesn't sit right with me. He's strange, for just another patron here." Nagito added, as soon as the three were outside.
"And you're going to investigate, on your own?" Celes asked.
"Well, why not?" Nagito replied.
"If your suspicions are correct, it could be dangerous…" Chiaki pointed out.
"I've ran at powerful undead horrors with a sword almost as big as Hiyoko was. I think I'm pretty used to danger by now." Nagito chuckled.
"… Very well. I know you won't take this advice to heart, but be careful." Celes concluded, as she and Chiaki walked one way, and Nagito headed back into the Copper Arm.

Nagito ventured back inside, keeping an eye out for Rantaro. However, as Nagito glanced across the tavern, he seemed unable to locate him – though it would've been impossible for Rantaro to have left, as Chiaki, Celes and he would have seen him leaving. Frowning, Nagito glanced across the tavern again, before deciding to head upstairs. Perhaps he had gone to the lounge? Nagito took himself up the stairs, venturing towards the lounge.

The lounge hadn't changed during the refurbishment: it was still the same old lounge, though the furniture had been replaced at some point. And, to Nagito's luck and hopes, Rantaro was exactly where he had suspected he would be, sitting on one of the lounges, apparently in the middle of a call, as evidenced by the device on his mouth and ear.

"Yeah… her eyes look strange, but I doubt they're actually cyberized. I mean, that necromancer a few years back reportedly had eyes that look strange, but when they investigated him, there wasn't a trace of cybernetic augments anywhere in his body." Rantaro reported, apparently facing away from the door, simply staring out the massive window. However, as Nagito took a few steps closer to get a closer listen, Rantaro suddenly turned his head back.
"Uh, sorry. I'll have to talk to you later. I love you." Rantaro said, blowing a kiss to the device, before sliding his finger and putting the device away. Smiling happily, he turned back to face Nagito. "Hi, may I help you?"
"Uh… yeah. Who were you just talking to?" Nagito asked, tilting his head.
"Oh? Ah, just my boyfriend. When you left, he wanted to know how I was doing, and well, I wound up just talking about my match with Celestia. I'm sure she'd have a few things to say to her lover about how I look or play, if she had one." Rantaro replied, chuckling.
"I see…" Nagito replied. Sighing, he placed himself on the seat opposite Rantaro. Something still didn't sit right, but his response did check out.

"I'd offer a shared drink, but after the fiasco with the other patron, I think you might be a little on edge about drinks." Rantaro scratched behind his ear. "I'm not even sure if your body could handle it, anyway, considering, well…" He gestured to Nagito's body in general.
"It's fine. I've had it before. I'll get it." Nagito stated, standing back up and heading towards the door. "Any preference?"
"A white wine, if that's possible." Rantaro replied, smiling.
"Yeah, that's fine." Nagito stated, before heading back downstairs to get the bottle.

Rantaro sighed, staring out the window. This would be harder than he thought.