a glance is all he needs to give to their server. she approaches, hands at her back, and listens attentively. nikkari looks over the menu once again and hmmms in the back of his throat. he'd worn a smile of appreciation upon teasing a glimmer of the person behind the casino owner's mask. now it wanes as he muses. 

"the caviar to start. your cloysters for our second and the seaking carpaccio for our mains. and a pitcher of water as well as some lemon wedges, if you wouldn't mind."

he offers his menu to her. she collects them, tops off their champagne, and then excuses herself to fill their order. 

"you need delicate flavors. the blanc de blancs is notoriously robust, especially salon's. the salt from the caviar will bring out some of its sweetness."

his smile is apologetic now. "wine is a passion of mine. but enough about me. i'd like to know about you, miss hasegawa. what are your passions?"

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

her gaze sweeps over him and his eyes dance in the candlelight - a coy tease swims in gold. while her looks haven't escaped his notice, he is not afforded the same pleasure to give her a once-over, so instead he watches the champagne bubble against the side of their flutes.

the server stands back a ways, allowing them privacy for their toast, but she does not stray far. 

"to our celebration," he amends and clinks their glasses together. up until this moment, he has worn his reserved charm like an old glove, but the champagne undoes him. an almost childlike giddiness shines on his face as he raises the rim to his lips. 

he's slow to drink, first breathing in the nose. the bubbles tickle his nose, but he smells a light petrichor, sunlight dappling through the clouds, tinged with lemon and ripe greens. on his palate is every bit he excepted from the vineyard - a robust, stony flavor that sends a shiver down his spine. 

"exceptional," he murmurs and lowers the glass back to the table. "do you care for it?" he asks. he does not glance at his menu. "i mean to select our dinner to complement the bottle." a smile. "so speak now or forever hold your peace."

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

coronabeth and ianthe are right on his heels, holding back the brush to stop it from catching as the troupe hurries away from the site. they make their way through the bamboo forest and this time he's careful where he steps, keeping a watchful eye on the foxes following behind him.

the danger, it seems, does not follow them. alecto takes over for his eyes, but he stays on edge. the celesteela are the biggest threat in this realm. there's little doubt of that. and he'd rather not relive falling in a pit trap of them again. 

the ground dips. he pauses at the edge. coronabeth tests the ground with one paw and then shrugs, trotting forward brazenly. ianthe scrambles after her and nikkari. as he nears rodger, he realizes the bamboo have marks on them. 

"it seems...these craters demand gifts of us." he smiles, bemused. "regardless, i think it's safe here. at least for the moment. we take some time to collect ourselves, investigate what we can, and then retrace our steps."

he's not one to push his own luck.

@girard caden maher

☉

when he sits, the waitress reaches for the neck of the bottle, but he holds up a hand. he'd been informed on his way to the table that miss hasegawa would be joining him and such a momentous occasion should be enjoyed from start to finish. 

low candlelight flickers warmly over the cream tablecloth. nikkari's bag is not at his side. after the meal and champagne, and with the hour, he'd opted to reserve a room on one of the upper floors.

she arrives and takes her seat before he has the opportunity to stand and pull her chair out for her. half-bent, he chuckles, and then sits back down as she puts her napkin in her lap, settling in as though it were the most comfortable thing in the world. 

she thrives on this, he thinks. wonderful. 

"i may have you to thank you for the luck," he says with a wave of his hand. "and yes, i did enjoy myself, though anyone can put together a floor and fill it with shiny pieces. i find myself most impressed with your staff." they can make or break an operation.

as though on cue, upon seeing yumi sit at the table, their server is upon them. she looks at nikkari, fingertips dimpling the neck of the champagne bottle. nikkari leans back in his chair, draping one shoulder along its back, and tilts his head at yumi.

"shall we imbibe?"

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

"i'll be sure to ask after you if they do. champagne of that caliber should only be enjoyed with company." she takes her leave and he watches her go. another thoughtful sip and then he reopens his laptop. ten more minutes, enough to savor this glass, and then he'll move to the casino floor. 

in that span, though, he pulls up a word document and starts drafting a letter to fire katina for her continued incompetency...

nikkari likes to leave as little room for chance as possible. it's unavoidable, of course. life is a series of roadblocks, bumps, and collisions. you're dealt a hand and have to make due with the best of it. he'd gotten lucky, the cards that were given to him at birth. 

he's seen the unlucky. most of them lose, with the odds stacked against them. and then there are the surprising few, able to bluff their way to the next round. the most dangerous in the business. they have an edge nikkari doesn't have, and never will. 

all this to be said, he avoids the slots. the most even footing would be the blackjack tables and he sits at them for some time, but he bores easily and moves on to the craps tables. 

after some time, he's unbuttoned his suit jacket and handed it to an attendant for a coat check. crisp sleeves are pushed up. another glass of bordeaux is in his hand. the dice fly from his other and a round of claps rotate around the table.

at around 10, he makes a reservation at l'amphitryon and requests a table for two, though kindly informs the hostess that there may only be one. and to please kindly have the table prepared with a bottle of salon's 1976 vintage. she'll be informed, surely, of the request, given the price of the bottle, and he's no doubt miss hasegawa will keep to her word, but he does not ask after her. he leaves room for her to have the option. 

still, he finds himself smoothing his shirt, rumpled from play, and shrugging back into his jacket to look presentable while he takes the elevator to the restaurant's floor. 

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

intrigue sparkles. he's astounded, actually, that they have the rapport to work directly with them and not through a pompous distributor. he's never cared for the type the job attracts - salesmen with shortsighted dreams. (he'd worked as one for some time, a lifetime ago.)

"mm, the aforementioned compliments are well-deserved, i see."

his stem swirls. red legs drip down the side of his glass. a tempting offer. his avarice rears its ugly head; he's never had a chance to try it, and it's regarded as one of the best crop yield years in the vineyard's illustrious history. but surely they're not pouring glasses of it, and he thinks it may come off a bit too eager if he were to drop over eleven thousand on the bottle for her. 

"i'm afraid i limit myself to one glass before i play the tables," he says with a quirk of his lips. "but if it's in the cards tonight, i may look to take you up on that offer."

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

if she's any good at her job, she'll be upon him within the hour. he'd chosen an exceptionally busy night to ensure she would be on site, but had arrived earlier enough where it wouldn't inconvenience her to step away for a moment and chat with him. 

on his computer screen is his online portal where he's combing through names and checking that business is running smoothly with the properties he manages. he brings his wine to his lips, twirling the stem. his lips curl in a slight frown as he reviews correspondence from one of his managers.

he'll have to fire her sooner than he thought. 

the clicking of her heels is audible in the mostly vacant area so it's only natural he lifts his gaze from behind his screen.

"miss hasegawa," he says warmly, setting down his glass to offer a hand of his own. he grips tightly, offers a stern shake, and then withdraws. his screen is left up only to grant her a peek, if she desires; there is only a home screen now - victory property management, with an astounding catalogue of residences displayed. and then the laptop is closed, out of politeness.

his shoulders draw back so he can drape his fingers idly over the foot of his wine glass. 

"the pleasure is all mine. i've heard nothing but compliments since the grand reopening. but i must admit, i was most impressed with your wine offerings. did i truly see a 1976 vintage from salon le mesnil on the menu?"

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

yumi hasegawa. 

it's a name circulating around rocket headquarters. her grand reopening of the late killian decker's casino had, apparently, been a hit. nikkari had heard about it through the grapevine, but he's been up to his neck mucking himself out of shit since he was stranded here in hoenn.

early mornings outside his terrace in lilycove have eased his homesickness. he still prefers the brisk air of the countryside to hoenn's humidity, but it's not so bad when lounging in summer linens on a penthouse floor overlooking the sea. 

he's had to throw a few dozen connections at the wall to see what sticks. a majority of them were duds and those that weren't were too much of a hassle to unearth or start negotiations. he has some footing, at least. his identity is still untraceable and a few calls set him up with a new route to his wealth.

galar is, evidently, still in shambles. admin fox, the rocket head he had dealt with most in the past, has become a turncoat. nikkari has as clean an out as any. he could retire in lilycove, in his penthouse, above his sea, and there's a chance rocket would be none the wiser.

and yet he is carrying with him a leather laptop bag. he is in his nicest navy trousers and matching suit jacket, crisp white collared shirt tucked into a slender waistline. brown oxfords match his brown belt. his hair is drawn and spills in one gathered trail down his back.

his card grants him ten thousand worth of chips and a staff member to wait on him. when he fields for a vip area, she takes him to a private bar and asks after his chips.

"i'll be playing the tables in about an hour or so. when you have a moment, i'd love a glass of your 1989 bordeaux."

and with that, he withdraws his laptop and begins to work.

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

his warning is almost in vain, but caden quite literally saves their asses. but smoke plumes as the dry brush around them begins to catch. alecto scrambles up nikkari's back, sapphire eyes flashing with detect in an attempt to single out their foe. 

meanwhile nikkari reaches for two more luxury balls on his hip. his vulpix emerge and startle at the sight. ianthe cowers away from the ice with a hiss, but coronobeth rolls in it. flames spin around her fur as she laps up its energy. 

"ianthe, over there." they divide and conquer. crown snuffs out their right side with her fiery paws and ianthe whines; multicolored tendrils of light spew from her mouth and blanket the untouched brush with a veil of ice. 

"this will slow it, but we ought to move. you good to walk?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at girard.

@girard caden maher

☉

nikkari stills his fidgeting and has to smother his laugh at damien's rebuttal. let's think logically here. oh, he can just imagine taoyang's affronted face as he's talked down to, how the muscle is stretched taut in his jaw. and beneath that aggravation is a commendation, a certain type of wanting that comes from being told what to do. 

damien has him hook, line, and sinker. 

taoyang's face flushes at in the red. there is a brief flicker of disbelief and frustration. how they'd been able to track his carefully hidden records was beyond him, but the threat is substantial. whatever cards he thought he had coming in here didn't matter; the house always won. 

"are thinly veiled threats this branch's version of helping with my concerns?"

nikkari allows himself a laugh now. "he's shaking in his boots now. you must be scaring him quite a bit. you can seal the deal." he stands, brushing out his rumpled folds, and buttoning his jacket back up. 

this won't be the last they hear of taoyang lin, surely. he'll need a slap on the wrist every few months, and he'll expect damien to deliver said slap. the man's a sadist at heart. 

"there's a bar a few streets over by the harbor. drinks are on me."

DAMIEN RUSSO

☉

"will it now?" he says. in what world? clearing a room of civilians might be useful, he supposes, but even then, the tact seems downright messy. 

nevermind that. the smell hasn't seemed to dissipate, despite the pokemon having gotten sucked into the ball. alecto chitters again and tosses something from the bushes. the spotted, bulbous top of the gloom fluctuates. its curled leaves fan and a horrid stench assails nikkari's nose again. 

"for arceus sake," he mutters. the gloom fires off a leech seed at alecto as she comes tumbling out of the bushes herself, claws out and ready. leaves sprout on her arms, but she pays them no mind as she flays the thing to pieces with night slash after night slash. 

when it faints at his feet, nikkari steps away. 

"do with that what you will," he says and moves ahead to clear his damned nose. 

mitchel kane

skipping
get fucked, gloom

☉