Outside the club

Outside the club there is nothing much going on. People show up and the bouncer either lets them in or turns them away. Now that Tetsu is close enough to hear the conversations, the difference seems to be primarily whether or not the people are willing to give up their contraband or not. There isn't a line of people waiting to get in like some other more trendy clubs. It is clearly a very niche clientele.

Tetsu continues to listen to conversations, hoping to glean something useful about Rokudenashiko or Akane from the people filing into the back door.  

In the meantime, he takes in his surroundings, hoping to notice something helpful about the area outside the backdoor.

(Sam let me know it is perception + Intuition + my 2 dice modifier, so that is 4+1+2))

Tetsu carried out 7 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , ,

The people walking by don't really have anything interesting to say, though they do give Tetsu a look and keep their distance as they notice his axe. During a lull, the bouncer eventually walks up and says, "Can you stand somewhere else? You are frightening the customers. There is another club across the street, you can scare their customers all you like."

Meanwhile there is a girl dressed in a typical high school uniform leaning against the entrance of the alley. In one hand she holds a cigarette, and in the other she quietly plays with a yoyo. Her eyes catch yours as you look at her, but she says nothing and continues playing with her yoyo while gazing about as if waiting for someone.

Tetsu looks the bouncer up and down, thinks for a moment, and then decides to ignore him.  He changes his focus to the girl in the high school dress. As her eyes catch his, he shifts his thick body around uncomfortably.

He walks up to her, trying to remember how he used to get people to like him.  "You used to be so good at this!" he silently scolds himself.  Suddenly, feeling awkward about his weapon for this first time in 5 years, he puts together a poor attempt to half hide his axe beneath his jacket.

He approaches and says:

"Hi.  I like your yo-yo.  Is it a Duncan?"

She snaps her wrist and catches the yoyo in her fist as Tetsu addresses her. She shakes her head and says, "No, I made it myself." Eyeing Tetsu's ax she says, "Are you supposed to be a fire fighter or something?"

"No, not a firefighter.  I've always had a thing for Thor.  Raijin is my mentor spirit, and Thor is kind of the ancient Norse Raijin.

Anyway - I love this ax, so I figured it would be a good Thor prop, and I didn't want to leave it outside because I'm worried someone would steal it.  So I'm stuck waiting out here for some friends that went inside.

You did a really great job of making that yo-yo.  My son used to collect them.  Do you make anything else, or are yo-yo's your thing?

She smirks and says, "I do lots of other things." Looking Tetsu up and down for a bit, she then says, "You look like a guy who 'does things'. But, I guess you must have a wife at home taking care of that son of yours, eh?"

Looking down at the ax, she then says, "Your weapon is impressive. Do you mind if I hold it for a moment to take a look?"

Tetsu's face hardens for a moment, and then he gives her a half smile.

"No, I don't have a wife at home.  We're... not together any more."   After a brief moment, he moves closer to her, placing the axe in her hands, while keeping a grip on it himself.

Do you see the kinks on the handle"  he moves one hand up the handle, pointing out little scratches, a few inches apart.

"I used to measure my sons height with these notches on this handle"  He slides the axes further down, now focused on the head

"The ornate design of the head was designed by my father.  He and I built this axe together."

He then softly extricates the axe from the girl, and backs a few steps away.

"What about you, what other kinds of things do you do?"

The girl smiles at Tetsu as she runs her hands along the ax's handle while he tells his story then allows it to be taken back without struggle. She then says, "Well, I am a skilled ballet dancer, and quite flexible because of it. I am a very good judge of character as well. Let me show you. I can sense that you are basically a good person, but very withdrawn. I sense that you had something very painful happen in your past; something that you both want to forget and yet it shapes you so much that you are not sure who you would be without it. Am I warm?"

As the girl talks through her assumption of his character, Tetsu's bottom jaw slightly drops.  He quickly recovers, mad at how much of himself he exposed.

"...There is some truth to to your words...  My name is Tetsu, what's yours? Are you here for the club?"

The girl says, "Tetsu, eh? I am Yuki. And do I look like someone who would go to that club?"

She gestures to her body, which is free of any visible cyberware, unlike most of the club's customers. Before Tetsu can answer, she says, "Yeah, no. A bunch of metal in my body is not my thing. I do like a good party though. My friends were supposed to meet me here for one, but they don't seem to be showing up. Why don't you and I go have a party together?"

"Well, I did come out here to have some fun, and it doesn't look like I'm going to be getting in there". He gestures towards the club.

"Let me send a message to my friends, letting them know I'm heading out. What kind of party did you have in mind?

Yuki gives an impish grin and says, "The kind of party that is going on in there, except more private and less metal. Let's go, I know a place nearby."

She then goes out to the main street and takes a left.

As Yuki leaves, Tetsu frowns. He ponders the girl, realizing there's no real evidence linking her to the current mission. She seems nice though, and he's not sure how long he'll have to wait outside the club, so he decides to follow her down the street to the left.

Always worried about an ambush he checks his surroundings, and then catches up with Yuki. He gets to her side and asks

"What's happening with your friends? Will they know where to find you if they show up?"

Yuki shrugs and says, "If they show up, they can call me. They know my number. Why? Am I not enough woman for you?"

In the alley by the club you didn't notice it before, but now that you are on the street with all the fancy lights, you can't help but notice she looks exactly like your ex-wife. A bit younger perhaps, like back when you first were dating and times where happier.

She squints at you, waiting for an answer to her question.

Tetsu does a double take.  He thinks back to great times, which is immediately followed by memories of pain and loss. He's overcome with emotion, and prepares to calm himself.

(In order to get over his social stress, roll for composure)
Tetsu carried out 9 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , , ,

Then does something depending on the roll

Tetsu composes himself.  He gives her a half smile and says.

"You seem like enough woman for anyone."

His demeanor then changes, growing more serious.

"Tell me Yuki, where is it we're going?  And how did you figure out so much about my past?"

Yuki says, "You said you had a son, you aren't married, and you looked like a kicked puppy when I asked about your wife. It doesn't take a magician to guess what I said. As for where we are going, if you haven't guessed that by now, then your powers of deduction need some work. I hope I don't have to explain so much in the bedroom as I do out here on the street."

She winks at you and turns into the front lobby of an apartment building. As you take a good look at the building, you realize it is the same building you and your ex-wife moved into many years ago. Room number 301 was the first place you ever shared together and you spent many happy days there. Surely a coincidence though. There are many people who live in this apartment building, after all.

Tetsu is convinced something nefarious is happening here.  But Yuki appears to have information about him, and he needs to find out more.  If she has anything to do with the current mission, that's a plus.  

With his guard up, Tetsu follows Yuki into the apartment building.

Yuki heads into the elevator, pushes 3 and you go up. The doors open and she leads you to room 301. She flashes a key card at the door and it opens up. The room looks exactly as you remember it. Same furniture. Same pictures on the walls. Same wine stain in the carpet that no one could ever get out. Yuki gestures about and says, "This is the place. Nice, ne? Come in, let's get comfortable!"

Giving a grin, she runs her fingertip across Tetsu's chin and leans down to kiss his cheek before heading into the room.

Tetsu takes time to look around the apartment and he is flooded with memories, both good and bad.

He then rolls for perception, looking for anything he can find out about this girl.  He checks for pictures, personal items, etc.  He also scans briefly for places where she would hide weapons, however he doesn't take much time doing this as the girl seems impatient.

Tetsu carried out 7 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , ,

(Also - I feel like I should be constantly checking for composure.  Not sure how much leeway that first roll gets me.  I'll assume I don't have to roll again - but if I do then my response below could change)

(I'll also assume I don't find anything useful from perception, but again if I do the response below could change)

He follows her into the room, and says "This place is nice.  How long have you been here?"

((yeah, you should definitely be making a composure check now))

Tetsu doesn't immediately notice any weapons laying about, and if any are hidden it would be difficult for him to start searching the house with Yuki watching. There are also no immediately apparent personal effects that are obviously Yuki's but perhaps she just doesn't keep them here in the living room.

Yuki laughs and responds, "Been here? Since five seconds ago, I guess? You walked in here with me, remember? Do you always ask so many questions when a pretty girl invites you to a room? Do I need to walk you through this? Okay... step one, you come with me to that sofa over there and take off your clothes. Step two, you show me if that tongue is good for anything other than talking."

She gives you a wink and walks over to the sofa and slips her panties off from under her skirt then tosses them aside, revealing nothing, but saying everything. Sitting down on the sofa, she hooks her finger in her direction, making a "come here" gesture.

From behind the sofa, a head pops up. It is your son, the same as he was the last day that you saw him. He is quietly watching you, but Yuki doesn't seem to notice him. Though now that you see them together, you can't help but think that she doesn't merely look like your ex-wife, she actually is your ex-wife. The boy says, "Welcome home daddy! Mommy has been so lonely without you!"

Your wife blushes and glances over her shoulder for a moment before looking back at you and saying, "Are you alright, darling?"

So. Roll for composure

Tetsu carried out 9 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , , ,

Tetsu knows his wife and son are dead, so he doesn't understand what is happening. It must be magic. Tetsu rolls for astral Perception to see if he can figure it out

Tetsu carried out 8 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , ,

(Didn't mean to post. I should have only rolled 7 for perception, but I'm on my phone and misclicked. Should we just ignore the last die, or reroll?)

Anyway. Only 3 hits on the composure check. you said I need 4 - so I assume it fails.

Tetsu gets overcome with emotion. He draws his axe, and forcefully grabs Yuki, holding the axe threateningly at her.

"Who are you, woman!? What is happening here!??" He shouts at her.