AD 2206, 5/5, 6th Hierarchical City of Yabiko – Unknown Area

The vigilante known as Carl Clover sighs as he takes another sip of his brandy. He's sitting at a table in a humble, homely pub done up in Austrian style. It is that very furnishing had caught his eye. Its familiar style is a welcome distraction from his sister's absence. He'd had to leave her hidden outside, to avoid drawing the attention of his fellow patrons. It's his twenty-first birthday, not that he feels like celebrating.

He's no closer to his goals than when he'd set out all those years ago. The drinking is for experimentation. He wants to see if his inebriation will bring about favor from some merciful muse. If only he was alone.

Kagura Mutsuki slings an arm around Carl's cloaked shoulders. "Come on, Clover, live a little!"

The man is the leader of the NOL's Praetorian Guard, not that you'd know it from his demeanor. Still, his spiky black hair falls over his handsome face quite strikingly in the pub's low light.

Carl huffs, his left 'eye' throbbing behind his silver half-mask. His white-gloved hand grips the iron handle of his mug tighter as his irritation grows. "Colonel, I must kindly ask that you remove your arm from my person."

Kagura raises a brow, but cordially removes his wrapped hand from Carl's shoulder, then taking a sullen swig of his sake.

Carl himself takes another deft sip of his brandy. He relishes the warmth gliding down his throat.

Kagura groans, "Stop taking baby sips! You need to throw it back and have another, or you'll never get the hang of this."

Kagura demonstrates his point by throwing back his head and downing his bottle in a single go. He jostles his ornately gold-lined black cape in the process.

How typically uncouth of the playboy, Carl muses. He hums his disapproval and continues to sip leisurely. "Hopefully Mutsuki will get bored if I don't react to him. I'd rather not risk a fight."

Alas, Kagura persists. With a twinkle in his iolite eyes, he smiles smolderingly. He slurs his words a bit, "You know what you need?"

Carl raises a disinterested brow, not even glancing at Kagura. "Some peace and quiet?"

His cerulean eye stares forward, burning a hole in a painting depicting a cavalry charge.

"Nope." Kagura sets down the empty mug and motions for another. He then raises a scholarly finger skywards, his expression solemn. "You need a, hic, woman's touch."

Carl stiffens, his gaze shifting to the man beside him with suspicion and irritation.

Kagura leans in, never breaking eye contact. He huskily murmurs, "You're so tense. I could use you to beat Shishigami to Torifune and back."

Carl scoffs, leaning away to glare at Kagura with a vicious frown.

Kagura smirks at him rakishly. "See what I mean? You're getting all worked up just thinking about it."

Kagura moves to poke Carl on the nose with his pointer finger, but the younger man slaps his hand away.

Carl hisses like a terrorized Kaka kitten, his hackles rising as his voice lowers. "And just how do you know I favor the company of women? Or any company at all for that matter?"

Kagura shakes his swatted hand with a hum, shrugging. He's not lost his rakish leer. "Call it lover's intuition."

Carl groans desperately and takes a properly uncouth swig of his brandy. He turns away from the ridiculous man, silently damning the heat creeping into his cheeks.

Kagura smacks the table in protestation, causing Carl to jolt and refocus on him.

Kagura's expression is sloppier now, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Say, Clover. How's about a bet?"

Carl raises a critical bow, huffing, "What?"

Kagura continues to smirk, leaning in close once again. "If you can— hic, drink me under the table, I'll let you go. If I win, you gotta stay with me for a while so I can— hic find you a pretty lady." He leans back, crossing his arms challengingly. "So, whaddya say?"

Carl eyes Kagura dubiously. The man is a bit of a braggart by reputation, and is clearly drunker than Carl. He thinks for a moment, then dons a confident smirk of his own. Given his constitution and the progress Kagura has already made toward oblivion...

Carl finishes his drink with a flourish, "Alright, Colonel. I'll play your little game."

Kagura hums thoughtfully as he watches Carl grip the edge of their table. The kid's blonde braid brushes across the fine polish as he tries to maintain his precarious balance. He whines as Kagura hands him another mug.

Carl pouts, meekly muttering, "Mutsuki, why are we, hic, doing this, again?" He tilts his head like a lost puppy, his bangs falling into his eye.

Kagura can't help the hearty chuckle that escapes his lips at such a cute sight. "Because you need to prove yourself as a man, remember?"

With a huff, Carl raises his freshly full mug of brandy to his lips and closes his eye.

Kagura's expression takes on a more calculating edge. Carl's fallen for his reliable routine hook, line, and sinker. Kagura reckons that it will be just another drink or two before the kid's finally down for the count.

Kagura could tell at a glance that Carl wasn't in a good place. His back was as stiff as a steel rod, his suspicious eye darting around the pub constantly. It hadn't taken him long to notice Kagura, and then he'd been strung tighter than one of Taro's strings. It's pretty clear to Kagura that the last six years of self-isolation haven't done Carl much good. Still, who knew that he'd be such a regressive drunk?

Carl finishes his drink with a satisfied gasp, the alcohol shining prettily off his petal pink lips. His long lashes flutter against a flushed cheek as he opens his eye to peer at Kagura.

Kagura hasn't seen the other man this vulnerable before. Not that he's ever seen or paid much attention to Carl, mind. Though he supposes that he can now see why that performance troupe was chasing after him. Carl's soft features are an excellent complement to the low, warm lighting of the pub.

Kagura grabs one of his new bottles of sake, and downs it swiftly, relishing in the singeing burn. He'll give Carl his due; he's gotten Kagura very nearly drunk himself. He's about half a dozen rounds away from his limit.

If Carl somehow proves his intuition wrong and manages to hang on, this will have all been for nothing. If that happens, then Hibiki's bound to get pissed at him.

Kagura thinks about that notion again, then shrugs. "Hibiki's probably pissed at me anyway."

Carl puts down his mug, hiccupping airily, swaying more erratically in his seat.

A shark's killer grin splits Kagura's cheeks. He's got Carl dead to rights, now.

Kagura quickly hands Carl another mug.

The younger man shakily shoots him with a glare full of distress and angry determination.

Kagura then grabs another bottle of sake for himself and counts down from five. They raise their drinks in unison, and…

Carl topples onto the table with a thud, out cold.

Kagura puts down his bottle with a cocky grin and a flourish. "…You're out. I win."

"Now Sir, it's impolite to leave a contest unfinished."

Kagura jolts as a familiar, but unwelcome voice huskily whispers in his ear. He nervously turns his head to see a particularly intense-looking Hibiki. He swallows thickly.

Hibiki offers a small smile that actually reaches their dark eyes.

Kagura feels his soul trying to escape the unsafe confinement of his very mortal flesh. Kagura smiles shakily at them, then grabs and downs his bottle as quick as a flash.

Hibiki's expression returns to careful neutrality. They hum, "Also, since when did you have time in your schedule to run a dating service?"

Kagura bats his eyes innocently, hoping to duck from what he knows in his heart is inevitable. "I'm sure that Their Highness can find it in their heart to—"

Hibiki slices a hand through the air, producing a clipboard holding a thick paper stack.

Kagura groans, his once happy heart falling into the merciless clutches of despair. Why did he have to do paperwork now? With a reluctant sigh, he gets to work filling out an extensive leave waiver.

Kagura finishes after several minutes, and moodily passes the clipboard back to Hibiki.

Hibiki hums, gesturing to the unconscious form of Carl. "Best you both get going before Shishigami comes looking, sir. I took the liberty of letting him know that dear 'Master Carl' was in here."

Kagura sputters and darts his eyes around the pub nervously. "You sneaky little—?!"

Hibiki saunters off while Kagura's distracted. They disappear into the shadows within a moment.

Kagura is about to shout for them to come back, when he hears the growing echoes of that signature loud shouting. He kicks his ass into high gear. He throws a lot of money on the table, grabs Carl, and books it out the back door.

Bang Shishigami bursts through the door of the small pub with a manly cry. ""MASTER CARL! It's been too long since— Huh?"

Bang looks around in confoundment and sadness, frowning deeply. Hibiki said he'd be right here, at table three. Yet here he stands atop the fine furniture with nothing but empty chairs before him.

He hums thoughtfully and taps his chin. His expression becomes pensive as his keen mind races. "How curious…"

"You jackass, I just got that table clean!"

A swift and devastating broom swing to the head cuts Bang's customary inner monologue short.

Kagura bobs to the left with a grunt. A moment later, he weaves to the right with a groan. A silver claw comes too close to snagging his cape, and he curses under his breath. He continues to cycle through evasive maneuvers, trying to outrun Nirvana.

However, the giant purple marionette is pretty damn relentless in her pursuit.

Carl's plated hat is heavy from where it sits after Kagura had hastily jammed it onto his head. Carl's loosening braid also keeps tangling and snagging on Kagura's fingers as he adjusts his grip. This is getting to be too much of a hassle in his current state.

Kagura decides to jostle Carl's sleeping form and manages to rouse him for a moment.

Carl hums, barely cracking his eye open. "Hmm? Just five more minutes, Sis…"

Carl dozes off again, snuggling closer and beginning to drool on Kagura's white shirt.

Kagura shakes him again, this time with feeling. "Clover! Get your Nox to knock it off!"

Carl moans, but cracks open his wary eye. He slurs a bit unintelligently before calling out, "Sis. It's okay, Mutsuki's just… Um, what are we doing…?"

Kagura watches Nirvana hesitate. He decides it's best to play along with his assigned role of the designated runner. "I'm taking you home so you can sleep this off."

Carl nods slowly, a soft, drunken smile forming. "That sounds nice. See Sis? It's okay…"

Carl trails off again, and Kagura watches Nirvana stop with a relieved sigh.

For a moment, the marionette just stands there. Then, she tilts her head and hold out her claws.

Not wanting to piss her off again, Kagura pivots and hands Carl to her.

Nirvana stares, tilting her blonde head again, almost as if she's expecting something from him.

Kagura huffs, "You're not serious…"

The moon gleams off her silver claws and she opens her other arm to gesture impatiently.

Kagura groans, then unenthusiastically shuffles into her grasp.

She clenches them both to her chest, then rockets off towards the NOL Branch at blinding speeds.

Kagura barely holds back his dinner.

Carl doesn't, and a scream of terrified anguish from below splits the night. He's going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning.

Kagura decides then and there that he'll sleep in. He doesn't want to deal with a hung-over Carl. Still, there's no denying the night's success. Kagura closes his eyes with a sigh. "Guess I'll have to wait after all."