ざわ. . .

That wasn't his intention. But then again; his presence had always caused such a reaction in people. Jotaro understood that people were easily intimidated, especially when you were a hulking mass of 6'5 stature - with muscle for days. And had a reputation of beating the shit out of people, sending them to the hospital within minutes.

The stranger - he would have to find out the guy's name, simply because he could not be constantly referred to as 'the stranger' or 'some guy.' Normally, he didn't care about other people whether they sat next to him or not, whether they stayed long enough to ignore him or not. Often letting bygones be bygones. Silently, he raised a hand to wave the bartender over to order his drink; a beer on tap, his favorite.

Finally, the other had chosen to take the seat beside him. There were words being said, an apology trying to form but wasn't coming out? Something of the sort. The ravenette had waited while words continuously spilled from the other man's mouth, stuttered, spaced out - hesitation? Jotaro wasn't sure, and he hadn't really bothered to care, either. As long as the other had calmed down enough to sit and enjoy a drink.

Hell, he'd even buy the man a drink.

As long as he just chilled out.

A single, thick brow raises at the apology that was given. The stand user had simply waved it off, not in the least bit angry with him. Once the bartender had stood in front of them, their orders had been given; beer. The tender eventually returned with the order, passing off the drinks to each man. a mumbled thanks is given from the Joestar. The lower murmuring vibrating around them had been enough to fill in the quiet space.

Teals shifted towards the other for a moment. Something he'd mentioned moments ago; missing. There were people missing? How had he not heard about this? Normally, any case that included a missing person would always grace Jotaro's desk. Had the Speedwagon Foundation been slacking? Or, were they just holding back for the moment?

As long as he could "show his work" and prove that he'd garner more successes over losses then, well... nothing else mattered. That was a fact, plain and simple.

It's part of why, admittedly, he was thankful for another "success" within this very moment. While it wasn't his original intention, it was by no means an unwelcomed situation. He didn't know how much longer he could stand (yeah, yeah... they weren't standing, they were sitting. it's just a thing people say, alright?) being next to this guy and hoping that he didn't make too much of an ass out of himself. Sometimes it's better fading into the background. The bar being even a little busier than usual definitely helped matters, adding a sprinkle of much... much needed ambiance.

It worked to soothe Kaiji's nerves, giving him something else to focus on. Splitting his attention sometimes helped, allowing for him to actually be distracted... which, contrary to popular belief, sometimes being distracted was a good thing. It kept certain things-- certain thoughts, actually, at bay.

Yeah... he could get used to this.

"Er, yeah..." he responded, taking a quick swig of his beer as the tension within his body both ebbed its way out of him yet back into him all the same. At least, though, it seemed to be a bit more manageable than before. Yeah... yeah, he could work with this. "I dunno, I could've... uh, misheard or whatever--" his free hand raised to scratch the back of his neck, letting him his turn his head away for a brief moment before returning, "--just reminded me, 'cause... I don't live here. That much is pretty obvious."

The reassurance wasn't necessary, Kaiji thought, but he wasn't about to say that out loud. Maybe it was this guy's way of saying "Hey, it's okay" without... being terribly obvious about it? He wasn't sure but decided he wasn't going to think too hard about it. After all, people weren't perfect. Not everyone were masters at public speaking, Kaiji included. That's something he sucked hard at in school.

"I'm, uh, Kaiji by th'way. If that makes this whole thing a bit less... weird, I guess. I kinda found this town by accident with a..." His grip tightened around the glass, squeezing his fingers so hard that it almost could've eked out a noise... whatever that'd be, anyway. "... A friend, I guess."

Shortly after, his grip relented.

There isn't a single moment of HESITATION from Misa when it comes to loudly declaring that she's not, in any fashion, going to work alongside HIM.

This guy is an absolute freak of nature! It SCARES her quite a bit that she CAN'T see his death date accurately. Why would she ally with someone that might drop dead in the next few seconds? Even worse if the weirdo has a heart attack out of nowhere during the middle of a game where it MATTERS. Like, that would put her in SUCH a mess. It's way too risky!

But wait-- Before coming here, Light told her she needs to be CLEVER about this. Misa ought to play smarter, not harder. Her beloved said something like that, right? That means she should use others as a stepping stone to achieve goals. Ack, the model hasn't exactly been making FRIENDS. Maybe she DOES need someone to do the heavy lifting for her.

That's when she purses her lips together, tapping her pointer fingers together as she glances away coyly. Light would lecture her so much right now if he was here . . . Misa wants to be a GOOD girl! Therefore, she'll play a LITTLE bit nicer. That's when she speaks slowly, unsure of herself.

Releasing her was an easy task, because it's not like he wanted to have his hands all over her anyway. He has no idea where she's been, after all. Daring to take one step closer, Kaiji's gaze averted and, steadily, honed in on another proposed duo further away. Rubbing his lips together, he's deciding it's best to ignore her little playing dumb (she's a good actress, he'll give her that. a stupid guy thinking with just his dick would fall for it, definitely.) act and to, instead, move on.

They had to be quick and efficient, especially if he -- and... ugh, her too... -- wanted to get out of this hellhole in one piece. In theory, it's an easy task. In execution, however...? Kaiji knew better than that.

He'd hope she'd know better, too.

"Heh," he couldn't help but let loose a laugh, be it out of relief that she's catching on or he didn't have to resort to anything less than ideal with her. She's a tough customer, but he'll get her yet. "I'll let you in on a secret... Misa," he began in a low voice, cramming his hands deep inside their individual pockets.

"See where I'm lookin'?" Kaiji posited, expression slowly working itself into one of incomplete serenity as he attempted to muffle the sounds of his heart pounding in his ears. Head nodded before lightly motioning towards the aforementioned men he spotted earlier. "Those guys... I've seen 'em before-- they're repeaters. They're like vultures, pickin' at first timers... like sharks... or leeches."

It's not a lie. Kaiji's lucky in that sense: he recognizes them. Doing shit like this... it's a gig to them. It's easy money.

"To them, you're like..." a momentary pause, allowing him to glance back at her with that same smile, of which only wavered a centimeter, "...blood in the water. They can smell it-- worse 'cause you're a chick."

Adjusting in his spot, Kaiji moved so half of his body was facing towards them and the other towards Misa. It'd add to the illusion of them still fighting, still negotiating... It'll curb a bit of suspicion, that way.

"They'll target you, plain and simple. Me, though? I don't give a shit 'bout all of that; I just wanna win... it doesn't matter what someone's got in-between their legs. Losers ain't gonna get special treatment, and we could lose without thinkin' about it." He probably could've worded that a bit better, but whatever. "... What we can do, however..."

A light gesture, shrugging her attention away from the duo and to, instead, the grand expanse of the Espoir's guts... clientele and all. They're all fresh meat, ready to be digested at a moment's notice.

who else could be there?    kaiji’s genuine suggestion nourishes an uncomfortable thought, a justified measure inevitably beckoning some degree of paranoia.  it was healthy, for now—-  the industry giorno fist-fought his way into required a clear mind, sharpened by vigilance; yet, one must remember it is poison first and foremost, that surrender to madness is to accept unfounded suggestions as truth. it was no slippery slope;  it was a crumbling edge, plummeting a vulnerable mind into its untenable abyss. 

thus, giorno approached this concern with compassion.  telephone line hijackings, radio-wave takeovers, computer viruses;  there were a plethora of ways for an enemy to interfere, and although the odds were in their favor, keeping important details of their objective hidden for the sake of public secrecy was dangerous.  transparency was key. the large, wooden doors are shut, and the sound of their joining echoes throughout the room, signalling their privacy.  it’s silent, oddly so.  the slightly opened window lets in a pleasant breeze, and the sun’s rays, spanning a blush gradient, illuminate the room.  what a shame this subject is so sensitive, giorno thinks, as he rises from his chair and maneuvers towards the framework, locking its dark wood panes and pocketing its key. 

one brief peek outside, an examination of their environment, was the last thing giorno granted it before shutting the voile curtain and reducing them to mere silhouettes through mesh. 

silent footsteps, at a glacial pace, stick to kaiji’s trail.  stoicism subdues all visible emotions simmering underneath giorno’s youthful features, save for a hint of concern, which stubbornly clings to his gaze.  kaiji is now sitting on one of the twin sofas placed at the end of the room, and giorno follows his example—- taking place opposite of his guest.  elbows press onto his thighs, spine bends, and his body angles down; half-folding, leaning forward, all to listen.

“  ... what happened?  ”

Wait, what did he feel like? This was a question that, on the surface, was incredibly simple. Only a few answers remained-- of which that made any amount of sense, anyway. He could visualize them, too; they wandered around in the recesses of his head, dragging their feet with both arms folded behind their backs in a meek display of submission (it makes him feel... inadequate, like a dog with its tail tucked between its hind legs.) that's been perfectly punctuated with a downturned gaze. It's picture-perfect, really... or, well, it should be.

There was still one, particular conundrum: Kaiji couldn't quite pinpoint what he was feeling in this very moment. It wasn't necessarily imperative for him to figure out, but shouldn't that be one of the very first things to figure out? He was meeting with the goddamn Don of Passione, for crying out loud! Expectations were put into place, and even Kaiji knew that. He should have been better prepared.

Instead, though, here he was-- sitting quietly on a sofa that felt way too luxurious for someone like him (just by looks alone, kaiji wagered it was probably, at least, in the hundreds of thousands. shit... it makes him feel sick even thinking about it: accidentally scuffing it, scratching it, poking a hole in the leather... aaaahhh!! let's stop thinking about it... now.) with both his hands "resting" atop his lap. Fingers plucked and pinched at one another, tugging halfheartedly at any loose hangnails that might've remained in the meanwhile. There wasn't. But Kaiji could still pretend there was, for sake of his rapidly pounding heart and his heaving chest.

All he needed to do was to calm down. He's safe now... wasn't he? That's what he was told.

There was no reason to not believe Giorno. They've made enough of a rapport with one another that, by now, Kaiji surely would've been made into mince meat were this anybody else. If not that, there was more than enough reason to trust in Giorno that he wasn't with Teiai. That should've been enough.

"I, uh..." the words come out, but it's a voice Kaiji can't quite recognize. It's soft, on the verge. There's an active war raging on within him, struggling to maintain a certain amount of stability within his tone. "There's... ssss-- someone was followin' me, I think. I shook him off."

He doesn't look at the other man, unsure if it's out of an inherent abundance of respect or an unnatural lack of confidence. All he could stomach to do, in its stead, was stare down at his fingers and silently count out the remaining number of each digits in-between pauses. One, two, three... four... five, six... seven--

"Shit, I'm sorry, man."

Eyes squeezed shut, and a rather violent shake of the head comes soon right after. Frustration, anger, irritation-- it's all the same fuckin' thing. A hand comes up to slap itself over a part of his face, only partially able to conceal the grimace that's started to take shape. He grumbled, an overly complicated mess of both expletives and inflammatory remarks.

"I screwed up," he mumbled, head sinking lower and lower until he's got both elbows digging holes into his thighs and his hands squeezing around the back of his head. "I dunno if he was gunnin' for me or--"

A pause. Deep breath.

dialogue prompts from mask of the deer woman by laurie l. dove.

my _____ is missing.

who else do i tell?

you look like you don't even believe me.

fear makes people unpredictable.

why wouldn't you want to get away?

so much for a warm welcome.

whatever gets you through.

you gonna give disrespect to me?

you've played your part to perfection.

your dad was a real son of a bitch, you know that?

were you there when _____ died?

_____ was my best friend, once.

enforcing the law and carrying out justice are very different things.

i'm not from around here. you?

waking up is still the worst part.

despair is better than feeling nothing, i suppose.

i don't need any of that weird shit today.

come. let me tell you a story.

danger doesn't always look like a wolf.

it's a little early to panic.

good to know you're still a call away.

been a minute. been a hot minute. been a lot of minutes.

so how are you, really?

nobody takes a job here unless they're desperate, delusional, or both.

you feeling alright? tell me what's going on.

i'm positively a ray of sunshine.

i've never liked surprises.

it's not that i like secrets, but i do find them necessary.

it feels like too much joy, all at once.

i knew, after a while, that i had to do something with that anger.

anything to escape that pain, right?

what do you think young people do, if they have no hope?

sometimes you don't really know a place until you leave it.

i've got one of those faces, i guess.

questions aren't something i'm too fond of.

you're trying to close the barn door after the horses are out.

who even smokes anymore? gross.

if it's important to you, it's important to me.

there is always more information than you think there is.

you got something to tell me?

i may have come on a little strong.

don't you ever go to school?

trust the fear. it will save your life.

you can't pour from an empty vessel.

you don't know what i've done to get this far.

whoa, slow down. you're hurt.

no one will ever believe me, but i don't care.