Performance Anxiety

[Captain AmeriMars]

Jace Deckard: He's been patrolling the docks nearly every night since he saw the news. Kali hasn't been able to catch a lead and he's run up against nothing but dead ends. Whoever was harvesting body parts has been keeping a low profile. In the meantime, there's no shortage of thugs to deal with and the docks are a central hub of illegal activity. He's just sank a shipment of drugs into dirty waters and vaulted off the schooner that had brought them in when he pauses, sure that someone is watching.

Gaku Kikuchi: Very little peaks the young Kikuchi’s interest, but the word of harvested bodies didn’t miss his ears. Admittedly, Intimidating people only gets him so far; enough that it brings him to the docks that night in search of the one with the bow. He makes sure to press himself close enough to the shadows, dark fabric concealing a good bit of his figure. The most notable part of his attire is the kitsune mask adorning his face. He crosses over the top of a few shipment containers, steps light.


Jace Deckard: Jace glances around but nothing immediately sticks out. Still, he feels eyes on him. He slips into the shadows, moving like a ghost along the edge of a shipping container. He stops and darts left, pressing to the edge, waiting to see if any shadow moves.

Mani Rose: The news of butchered cyborgs piques the interest of Mani. He approaches the docks in search of information from the dock workers. Maintaining his composure Mani questions the dock workers regarding the recent events. The dock workers, taken off guard by the immediate questioning, struggle to answer his questions. "The man with the bow, he's been lurking around looking for answers.. He may know more." Mani heads further into the docks in search of the man, looking to get more answers.


Gaku Kikuchi: He takes a few more steps, easing into a crouch upon catching the silhouette he has been eyeing. With little intention of immediately picking a fight, Gaku peels off to a side to find his way around Jace. Eventually the youngest Kikuchi drops down just about a few feet from the other man. "You've been here for some time." He speaks up, watching him closely. "What interest do you have here?"

Jace Deckard: A body suddenly dropping into his path doesn't put Jace in the mood for a friendly chat. He jerks back and reaches down for his bow, holstered at his thigh. His hand closes around the collapsed metal and yanks, pulling it free. He's prepared to snap his wrist and extend the bow, his free hand moving to draw an arrow from the quiver at his back.

Mani Rose: Hearing clanking coming from the distance, Mani decides to head towards the noise. Unsure of whats to come, he sets a defensive posture to protect himself in the event of a possible attack. His body tenses up as he heads towards the origin of the noise.

Gaku Kikuchi: Even from beneath the mask, Gaku catches the movement of joints and the unsheathing of the bow; yet there's no response from Jace. "No words?" Gaku jeers, fingers closing in on the pouch with knives at his waist. He draws two, sends them forward in Jace's direction. "I merely wanted to talk, but it seems like you have little interest in that." He presses forward, dropping low for a moment.


Jace Deckard: In the dark, the knives are hard to see. He catches the hand motion, though, and flips. One of the knives lances across his side, slashing deep enough to draw blood but not enough to seriously wound him. When he lands in a half crouch, his bow is fully drawn and he fires an arrow at the masked man.  "Talking doesn't generally involve an ambush." He moves, trying to keep some distance between himself and the masked assailant.

Mani Rose: Mani hears more noise coming from around the next bend, he closes the gap and turns the corner to see two men engaged in combat. In an attempt to stall the fighting Mani calmly states "Gentlemen hold fire, I would like to ask a few questions to the bowed man." He remains defensive to the drawn weapons as he awaits their response.

Gaku Kikuchi: An arrow cuts the air in his direction, and Gaku draws up his left arm in defense; the tip slices the sleeve of his coat and denting the metal beneath. "You were planning to draw your weapon first!" the man shoots back, jumping a few feet back in case more arrows came his way. "You-" His words fall short, having someone else cut in. Gaku tilts his head, raising an eyebrow towards the new figure. He makes no further motion to attack, but remains just as defensive. "He's not the talkative type...." Gaku scoffs.

Jace Deckard:  "After you literally dropped in!" He retorts and has another arrow nocked and ready but a new voice cuts in. He spins partially to keep them both in his line of sight. Jace rolls his eyes at the cat-man and takes another step back.  "Talk fast. Both of you."

Mani Rose: Glancing at both figures Mani wonders what he stumbled into. "I've heard of the murdered cyborgs that have been appearing near these docks, and let's say... I have a vested interest in my kind." He turns his head towards the man with the bow, "You there... with your bow drawn. I've been informed that you have been spending some time around this area, have you heard anything of interest?" Awaiting the response Mani turns his attention towards the other figure, making sure no move is made.

Gaku Kikuchi: The cyborg huffs a sigh, exhaling it as if it took every muscle in his body; "I'm not the only one walking the shadows here. You're just as suspicious, you've been wandering the docks for nights now." Gaku adds in, taking the split second that Jace spins to turn a little more towards Mani, to slip forward in one motion and wrap his hand around the bow to stop the other man from firing arrows. "We are obviously all in search of the same thing here."

Jace Deckard: Jace draws the same conclusion as cat-man. He turns just his head to the masked man and narrows cobalt blue eyes.  "Hands off the merchandise." He looses his grip on the arrows and jerks the bow free of the man's grasp before putting the arrows back in his quiver. He collapses the bow with one sharp jerk of his wrist.  "It isn't just cyborgs. It's whoever they can snag for spare parts. And I don't know much."

Mani Rose: Pulling his body back from the defensive stance, Mani starts to relax as the quarrel has devolved into an exchange of words. "Well, I have no interest in what humans were being taken. More cyborgs continue to go missing and I intend to stop this." Curious as to why the other guy is here, Mani begins trying to pull some insight from him as well. "You said about you not being the only one walking here. What has you so interested in this? And have you found anything he hasn't?" Mani questions Gaku.

Gaku Kikuchi: He draws his hand back to his side once Jace has dismissed the bow in hand. Gaku settles back, leaning against the exterior of a container and far less invested in a fight with this man. His head it turned back towards Mani, taking quick notice that his sole interest was in those that were more machine than man. "Human or machine, they are still lives." Gaku offers, being a less tense that before. His hand reaches up to slip off the mask, revealing the scars beneath hardened brown eyes. "I've gained little information in my time here."

Jace Deckard: Jace puts a hand discreetly to his side. His fingers come back red. He quickly closes said fingers and crosses his arms over his chest. His lips press into a frown as he regards them both.  "Cat-man's right. A life is a life." He pauses, trying to gauge how much he trusts these two. Finally, he throws them both a bone.  "Look, I'm ninety percent sure some junkyard doctor is at least part behind this. I think he hired the soldiers that were found dead. Just a hunch, but pretty sure he murdered them when his operation went sideways."

Mani Rose: "Well, If I happen to save a few humans in the process then so be it." Mani responds. He glances around the room, as he relaxes his body. "Look, I don't expect help, but I wouldn't mind being pointed in the right direction."

Gaku Kikuchi: Gaku mulls over his findings, taking in what Jace had to offer. "We know fairly little. Someone has an interest in organs, but we don't particularly know why. I'm sure this isn't the first time this junkyard doctor has stolen, or made an attempt at stealing body parts." He added in, pushing himself off the wall of the crate. "You're injured." The comment came from the blue, but Gaku had picked up on Jace's stance that the knife from earlier must have nicked him.

Jace Deckard:  "Honestly, it's probably just for the cash. Parts can fetch a pretty penny to the right people. People around here don't need much more of a reason." Jace shrugs without dislodging his arms from where they're crossed over his chest. His gaze cuts to the right and levels on Gaku. With little more than a flex to his jawline, he ignores the man's observation of his physical condition.  "You want to get ahead of this, go question some dealers, see who's been selling dubiously acquired organs."

Mani Rose: Mani apprehensively looks back at both men. "Well, admittedly I have no strong information to go off of. So I'll take the help if you'll have me."

Gaku Kikuchi: "Suppose you're right. People around here will do anything for money." Gaku gives a shake of his head; curiously he glances back over towards Mani, "I've gained very little on my own. I wouldn't mind the assistance either." He wasn't sure what teaming up with these two would lead to, but it couldn't hurt.

Jace Deckard: Jace looks between the two, both seemingly ready to go all Three Musketeers on this. He shakes his head, cobalt blue hues going temporarily wide.  "I think I'll pass on the whole team spirit thing." He pushes away from the crates that he'd been leaning against.  "Pretty sure you two got it from here." He doesn't wait around for a proper goodbye and instead gives them a two fingered salute before disappearing around the corner of some freight.

Mani Rose: Trying to maintain a personal wall Mani bids farewell for the time being. "Well, this could get interesting."

Gaku Kikuchi: Gaku opts to let out a sigh, "Stubborn, that one." He scoffs only moments later, his shoulders rolling into a shrug. The kitsune mask settles onto his features once more, waving a hand as a goodbye. "There's too much ground to cover in this city, for a single person. The more the better really." Eventually the man bids his own farewell, making his way back into the shadows.

[Captain AmeriMars]

Jace Deckard: The shadows swallow him as he moves away from the other two, disinterested in teaming up. He thinks that he's done enough, tentatively accepting Sage as a partner. He finds it difficult to work with others out in the field with his style. His partner, Kali, is different. She doesn't usually go into the field with him. And when she does, she listens, so he doesn't have to constantly worry about her safety. With the work he does, one second of distraction could kill him. If surprise ambushes by men in Kabuki masks throwing shurikens didn't do it first.

Gaku Kikuchi: He would be lying to himself if he doesn't feel some responsibility to check in on that wound he inflicted on Jace; tracking him was another story. In the midst of the night, Gaku finds himself on an excursion through the city in the direction he is sure he saw the young man go. He drops down from a perch on a fire escape, feet barely make a sound as he steps onto the sidewalk. He is no longer masking his features, hands tuck into his pockets. It isn't long before he's on the same set of pavement that Jace is. "You're quite stubborn, you know." Gaku is quick to make his presence known, "That shuriken punctured quite a bit, by the way you're bleeding." He didn't make any movement to catch up to Jace, keeping some distance. "Would you at least consider letting me have a look at it."

Jace Deckard: Jace spun at the voice, irritated that the man had gotten the drop on him again. He cast his blues over the man's features, jaw set. He didn't bother to inform him that he'd gotten his stubborn streak from his mother -- she had called him every variation of the descriptor under the sun but his favorite was 'bullheaded'. "Why? Wanna admire your handiwork?"


Gaku Kikuchi: When Gaku speaks up once more, his voice is softer and more pensive than usual. "You're wrong." He begins, taking steps closer to the other man. "It wasn't my intention. I know where to pick my fights, and I realize that is not with you. Though I know an apology isn't going to quite make up for it." He admits, stopping to cross his arms in against his chest. "I'm here to make sure, that, doesn't develop an infection." He points over towards the injury, seeing the dark stain in Jace's clothing. "I admit I made a mistake, and I believe this is one of the ways I can make some sort of amends for it."

Jace Deckard: Jace narrows his gaze on the Cat-Man and scoffs. "Shoulda thought about that before you sprang out of nowhere in the dark." He almost adds 'in a crap part of town' but basically all of the RPZ is a bad part of town so that goes without saying. Jace glanced down to the injury. It was no worse than he usually came home with. "Well, looking at it isn't gonna stop an infection and I don't see any medical supplies on you." He decides to grudgingly add, "'It'll be fine. My roommate can fix it."

Gaku Kikuchi: Gaku throws his head back, eyes fixed on the sky as his lungs exhale a long sigh. "You're stubborn and foolish." He responds, quite aggravated with the other man. "My bad, I didn't just present you with a greeting card and hand shake." he shoots back, sarcasm coated in every word. Gaku was up face to face with Jace now, hard gaze set on the younger man. "I'm just trying to help."

Jace Deckard: Jace doesn't back down even if he does have to look up four inches. "Been called worse." He shrugs off the man's assessment of his character and tips his head to the side, staring him down. "With what?" He demands. "Your good intentions?" He can't see anything on Gaku that indicates he's capable of treating a wound -- and Jace is determined not to give him the satisfaction. "You just wanted to talk, you coulda found me at Seven's." He points out, criticizing Gaku's initial approach.

Gaku Kikuchi: Gaku's jaw tightens, eyes narrow. "You are infuriating." The man huffs out, quite annoyed. "It wasn't just, YOU, I was looking for. I wanted to investigate the docks myself. So don't feel so special." He spat back, working a hand over his face in sheer frustration. "My place isn't that far from here, down the block, baka (idiot)." Gaku explained, and although he wasn't licensed as a doctor, his schooling provided enough to assist him in things like this. "You're impossible to compromise with." Without much warning, the youngest Kikuchi moved to carefully lift Jace over his shoulder. "Fortunately, I don't care." He began in the direction of his apartment. "I tend to the injury I caused, and I'll let you be."

Jace Deckard: He's a little satisfied that he's at least successfully pissing the man off -- small compensation for continually losing the upperhand. And it's short lived. Jace is too slow in seeing the other's hands move and is upended. A noise of both surprise and frustration leaves him followed promptly by a curse. Or five. "Are you fucking kidding me?! Put me down!" A handful of people look their way but nobody moves to intervene and Jace knows no one will. He struggles but it's a difficult position to break free from without falling straight on his head and breaking his neck.

Gaku Kikuchi: "Let me think about it." Gaku says, pretending like he was deeply considering letting the man down. "Nope." He continues down the pavement, cutting down an alley towards an apartment building just across the street. "Would you take it easy, you're not helping the situation." He works the keys from a pouch, getting into his apartment and finally setting Jace down. The apartment isn't anything fancy, some decent furniture, the living room was fairly kept up. A few robotic parts lay about, but apart from that everything is neatly organized. He kicks his shoes off, leaving them near the entrance. "Let me grab a few things. Sit. No point in leaving." Gaku motions towards the couch.

Jace Deckard: "Oh, you mean the situation you created?" Jace shoots back and he doesn't relent though his struggle lessens marginally after a few minutes. He's taken into an apartment and once he's back on his feet, he's sorely tempted to deck the man. His hand clenches but Cat-Man leaves and he's left to swear. He paces towards the window, refusing to sit. Like hell if he's gonna actually do what Cat-Man tells him. "You kidnap a lot of people?"

Gaku Kikuchi: "You're rather loud, you know that." He speaks from the other room, tucking a small medical kit under one arm as he steps out. His gaze settles back on Jace, raising an eyebrow at the question. "No, suppose you're the first." His shoulders rolled in a shrug. "Would you sit down. Please." Gaku draws out the please through his teeth; still fairly annoyed. He takes a seat at the coffee table, pulling open the kit to tear open some gauze and get the alcohol opened.


Jace Deckard: More insults. If he's so annoying, Jace wonders why the hell he didn't leave him alone to walk home. He wonders if this is the result of some sense of honor but then remembers that honor codes are something pretty much no one has anymore. He narrows blue eyes on him as he reemerges and mirrors the man, his own teeth clenched. "Fine." He sits, hoping that humoring him will result in being released faster.

Gaku Kikuchi: Slight confusion crosses Gaku's features when Jace takes the seat. Another silence falls between them, he's quiet in working his hands with a needle and thread to suture the wound in a bit. "Shirt." Gaku motions, waiting for Jace to reveal the wound to him. "The faster we finish this, the sooner you leave." The man says, "Why are you so against cooperating with me?"

Jace Deckard: He sighs and rolls his eyes, then strips off his leather jacket and shirt. The wound is a deep bite across his side, just below his ribs. He avoids looking at Gaku, studying the paint on his walls instead. "Why are you so determined to stitch this up? I said I had someone that'd do it."

Gaku Kikuchi: The throw of the shuriken hadn't been aimed to cause major injury, but it still left quite a slice in his side. "Because it was my mistake, I shouldn't have attacked you." Gaku leaves it at that, leaning forward to wipe away the blood that was staining the open wound. He applies a gauze of alcohol against it without much warning to Jace; the sting surely wasn't that bad. "I'm not a fan of leaving things as is. I know where I made faults, and I do my best to correct them." Once he was sure it was sanitized, he began to sew through flesh in order to close it up. "Its the principle. Of course I could of left you to take care of it yourself, but it isn't right." His hands were precise, gentle in nature between the arm that was made of machine and the arm that was still his own.

Jace Deckard: He hisses as the alcohol unexpectedly makes contact with the wound and levels a narrow-eyed glare at Cat-Man. Of course he has a moral code. He rolls his eyes, irritated that he couldn't have been jumped by an asshole instead of a semi-decent guy with a sense of honor. That makes it much harder to be mad at him and he's not over the fact that Gaku bested him so he wants to be mad at him. Jace grits his teeth as the needle moves through his skin but doesn't offer any further expression of pain. "Well, I wouldn't have taken care of it myself."

Gaku Kikuchi: His eyes are focused on his hands, threading through skin carefully so it wouldn't scar too bad later on. "You never shut up, do you." Gaku mutters, furrowing his brows. "Can't imagine you're a pleasant roommate to have." He adds, tying off the end of the stitch so that the wound was sealed. He sets some gauze over it before bandaging over it. "For anyone to put up with you, must have the patience of a saint." Gaku of course was doing his best to try and get under Jace's skin. "Maybe you should try to take better care of yourself..."

Jace Deckard: He reminds himself that hitting the guy with a needle buried in his side is counterproductive and just glares at him. He doesn't want to let the other's comments get to him nor does he want to give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him. So he sits in baleful silence until the bandaging is in place. Then he stands, yanking his shirt and jacket back on. "Maybe you should go play dress-up some more." He indicates the Kabuki mask and then heads for the door.

Gaku Kikuchi: Gaku rises from his seat on the coffee table, letting the other do as he pleases. "Perhaps I will." Gaku is amused at the comment, staring over at the kitsune mask tossed on the couch. If anything it gave him something to hide behind in case anything chooses to trace him back. "Good luck." Gaku waves him off, walking him back towards the door. "Take care of yourself."