When Things Go Wrong [Skirmish]

Ah, just look at the Camellia's! They're really beginning to grow into their own. And they smell incredible. The elderly folk a few blocks down will love them. Dorian sighed to himself quietly, not that it really was all that important for him to hide such personal pleasures. It was still early in the day and the shop wasn't going to get any customers for an hour or so. Most likely. In fact today not even the manager was around, it was simply Dorian managing the business and the tending to the various greenery present. Small pleasure he was 100% taking advantage of.

This was easily seen as he'd managed to brew himself some a very special tea just for the occasion. Vanilla, raspberry, with a couple scoops of all natural sugar. And it was currently stewing at the cashier's table. The thought alone of drinking it made Dorian absolutely giddy and he just needed a couple more minutes before it was brewed to perfection. This however would be the obvious point for the universe to decide to throw him a small curveball. He heard the bell at the entrance ring, alerting him to a potential customer.

"I'll be with you in just a moment! Feel free to look around in the meantime and if you have any questions before I'm there just give me a holler!" Dorian quickly got up from the Camellia's and made his way further back to a nearby sink. Much as Dorian had no qualms about meeting someone with dirt and plant matter on his hands, certain customers were a bit more finicky. So he had to make sure to give the best impression possibly by being as "clean" as possible. Granted when he used his apron as a rag and it was also stained with dirt, plant matter, and other sorts of things from prior uses it didn't quite do things right. But at least his hands looked clean.

By the time he was done he'd hear another ring of the bell signalling yet another customer. Well well aren't we busy today? I need to head over quickly so that they don't have to wait for long. Strange they are being so quiet though. . Most would have given me a response at least. Hmm. A quick jog from the back to the cashier desk and Dorian very quickly figured out why. Not one but two ghouls had walked in. At least he assumed so given their masks. And if nothing else local ghouls knew this was something of a connecting point to other ghouls. Though that usually happened at night as opposed to prior to 10am in the morning. Dorian made a quick glance down to the brief case hidden behind and under the counter. Seeing it there gave him a bit of peace of mind.

Make this quick Dorian. Lest I make it quick. . . two ghouls without similar masks doesn't bode well. Especially during the daytime. One mental nod to Black and Dorian put up his usual customer service smile and sat on the stool next to the desk. "So how can I help you two out? I assume a nice bouquet isn't why you both walked into the shop. Although if it is I've got several flowers to reccomend." Despite the facade Dorian was putting on there was an ever growing pit of anxiety in his stomach. Ghouls didn't normally walk in this early, and if they did they usually had thier mask hidden behind a coat, in their purse, or some other hidden pocket. But these two just walked in with them on. Please let the CCG not have seen these two. . . I'd like to keep working here.

Dorian really thought somewhere in the back of his mind that he could simply act casual and let this entire thing slide by. Hell he even hoped these two were simply new puppets or cronies of the court that just didn't understand the rules. Members of the court did help keep the shop running by need only "The best" flowers for their various "Events". That however was not the case today and from the way Sunshine spoke. At least he was to the point. Can't fault him there.

This left him two options. He either left the premises as Jack wanted him to do or he joined the fray. Much to Dorian's dismay there wasn't going to be a good way around this given the shop was already going down the road of disarray. Two of those feathers managed to miss Jack entirely. One breaking the glass and being let loose outside and the other landing on the floor, thankfully not hardwood but it was heating up enough to start singeing some of the plants it went past and those near it. That's where Black came in. I gave you your opportunity. Now I'm going to end this.

A quick jerk of Dorian's neck was the only sign that Black had taken over as he maintained the calm facade Dorian had put on. A quick glance over the situation at hand and there was only a couple things worth noting. 1. Sunshine had flame attributes. Cute. 2. Jack had been trying to keep Dorian relatively defended by using his tail of sorts as a shield, one that doubled as a weapon no less. 3. Sunshine turned his back on Dorian seeing him as only a human, which normally would not be a threat. Well if I don't take this opportunity even I'd be dissapointed in myself.

Without further adue Black grabbed the briefcase and pressed the button on the handle. He tried to make it look like he was in the process of running off to fool Sushine, who wasn't paying that much attention from the looks of things but Jack would easily be able to see the briefcase that was transforming into a wicked looking greatsword of bone, specifically vertebrae and bladed spikes that formed the sword portion. Once out he simply spun aroundon his left foot, brought the blade from his right leg up to his shoulder with both hands on the hilt, hilt aimed at Sunshines spinal cord. Without delay he stepped forward and thrust towards Sunshines back in at a speed even Jack would realize was probably faster than either would expect.

Assuming the blade hit, it'd easily ram its way through like a knife through butter. And where an explosion of pain would likely make itself present there would be another surprise for both ghouls to see. The wound was quickly being tainted with dark purple and at the tip of the blade there would be a drop of the poisonous substance that fell to the floor. At this point Black would lean up to Sunshine, twisting the blade and bringing it up just a bit more to help cut off more control to his arms while speaking into his ear. "Hmm I'm afraid the only shield to be used here is yourself. And for the record, if the blade through your spine isn't a good enough promise, move an inch or fire another shard and I'll split you in equal portions."

Black was under no illusions Sunshine would comply. Thus regardless of what Sunshine did and by extension Jack, if either even spoke something he didn't like he'd immediately shift the blade to cut through the mans right wing making certain none of the rooted wing would be salvagable assuming he lived. As for Jack, Black would look at him and though he was clearly promising violence to both had no intention of harming Jack. . . Yet. If his tail pulled anything funny however. . . well he hoped he had regeneration enough to make due with what'd be left.

Oh how I do love it when they suffer the hallucinations. Dorian you'll have to forgive me for this but I promise it's a necessary evil. He could see it in the mans body language that he was starting to get affected by the poison. A bit of a surprise if he was honest since they usually managed to be "immune" for a short time. Oh well it wouldn't matter much. With the flaming ghoul taken care of Black focused his gaze on Jack. Admittedly wondering what he should do with him.

He hadn't done anything to harm him. Yet he was actively helping him out. He'd even gone so far as to impale the mans legs to ensure he couldn't move. And it worked despite ghouls usually having regeneration. Seriously how weak was this ghoul? Then again he had impaled him. Perhaps the regeneration was already straining as is. He'd have to keep note of that for a later date. When Jack started speaking his eyes narrowed and focused solely on Jack. All he did was give a curt nod as a response to Jack's proposal. It wasn't like that fiery temper of his was going to help with anything.

However that didn't stop him from trying to get one last hit in regardless. The way he squirmed, the genuine fear in his eyes from the hallucinations really gave Black the semblance of joy. Nothing predatory mainly seeing the things that claimed to be better than him, better than Dorian be reduced to nothing short of insects. It really tickled his fancy in a way few other things did. Still he was a man of his word and he wasn't going to let the on coming fist get away scot free. Sorry Dorian, I'll clean up the mess later.

Try as Sunshine might to hit Black he was both parts not fast enough AND surprisingly weak compared to Black. Thus Black had no trouble letting go of the sword and using his arm to ward off the flimsy as hell back hand. From there it was a simple matter of pulling back his arm and forming a fist only to then let loose a punch aimed at the mans temple. The effect was instantaneous. He immediately lost sense of his everywhere and fell to his knees. The fact his skull had a few cracks in it and further blood was falling onto some of the nearby plants only showed how hard Black had hit him. From there it was a simple matter of pulling out his sword and stabbing it through the mans skull, without a doubt killing him on the spot.

Once done with the deed he glanced back up at Jack. "Alright Jack Skellington, you've got one chance to tell me why your here with our new resident corpse and why I shouldn't get the CCG involved. Just because you didn't actively harm the shop or myself doesn't mean its in my best interest to let you be. Especially when you were a paired package with sunflower." The floor was Jacks with Black giving him the time necessary to give him his answers. In the meantime Black pulled back the sword out of Sunshine's now hollowed out skull, not threateningly but so that it was at the ready if shit hit the fan. He had a feeling it wouldn't but one could never be too certain. Especially if the court was watching. Black needed to be careful for Dorian's sake.

For what it's worth he's attentive at least. Though I feel the idea of investigators, especially lower end investigators not having a side job or hobby does seem a little narrow minded. Still perhaps he is correct. I can't recall seeing them do anything outside their job description. Then again I don't exactly go stalking them either. The real question is how I should answer his own question to get left alone? Black took a moment to think about it. Hence though he kept eye contact with Jack he couldn't immediately give him an answer.



Obviously he wasn't going to just tell him everything. Jack was a stranger. A surprisingly helpful one but a stranger nonetheless. And he was a ghoul. He could affiliated with anyone. Or could even drop an anonymous hint to anyone he wanted to. For now Black needed to make sure no one else came into the shop nor saw anything unnecessary. This had Black walk by Jack first to the windows to shut the curtains and then to the door and turn the sign to "Closed" before locking it. Once finished with making sure the outside world couldn't get involved or would have a harder time getting involved he glanced back at Jack.



"I'd recommend making sure CCG members don't have a hobby or side job before you start making that a go to sign of someone not being apart of them. However you're correct in that I'm not with them. . . the why is honestly more complicated than a simple reason and it's better for each of us if we leave it at that. For now however I need to deal with the body. It's not the first one I've dealt with so I'd prefer it if you would leave. We've a backdoor, it should be discreet enough for you to return to wherever you came from. Also a last recommendation, don't come to this ward for a few days. Trust me it's in your benefit to heed it. The ward may be quiet but there are eyes everywhere.



As Black had been speaking he had walked back to the body and was starting to drag it away from the front desk and into the back portion of the shop. Today was fortunate in that he actually had a crate that had been filled with heavy gallon bags of fertilizer. It'd be more than enough to put the body in and would allow him to start tackling the mess up front after a quick call to the court. Still though knowing the court and their ghoul's tendencies to canonicalize their own, he didn't put it past Jack to want to consume his brethren. But unlike the courts hellish kitchens this was a plant shop. Peaceful, quiet, and absolutely not a front for anything court related. He wasn't going to have someone eat in or near the shop if he could help it.

Black stopped moving the body after Jack spoke. He wasn't certain about a lot of things right now. Least of all his current predicament and how to handle it effectively. It was a narrow tight rope, and one he needed to make sure was balanced perfectly on. The problem child in all this was his awkward standing with the CCG and the fact he was aligned with the Court currently. They no doubt would find out soon if he didn't call and get the awkward conversation over. And they would without a doubt want the body. He couldn't exactly play the "weak human" card to them lest he get eaten for being seen as useless.

On the other hand he couldn't just call the CCG. At least not without backlash from the court. The LAST thing they'd want is for him to call the CCG. However the real question was how many people saw the ghouls walkin in as blatantly as they did? How many saw Jack attack Sunshine? He was certain no one saw himself since he was pretty quick with everything involved and was about as far back as one could be given all the plant life being in the front of the store. Then there was his manager, the store owner. She was a normal human, with no idea he had ties to the Court here. If she were here she'd have absolutely called the CCG to ensure not only the body was taken care of but that investigators were sent here.

That's when it hit him. The court wouldn't have a 100% accurate idea of how many people could or had seen the events unfold. Because of this he, playing the part of an innocent human, needed to inform the CCG. Get them involved and have them "investigate" only to do find nothing. Meanwhile he could perhaps instigate something. . . maybe have the CCG stick around more. Dorian would hate it and frankly so would he. But it could expose the court naturally without him being found out. And with Jack's presence he'd be able to "pin" the blame on him for the body. He may even take the heat off of the ward for a bit so that the "investigation" came more naturally with not a lot of CCG members coming to Suginami. It was a stretch. He would be playing into a dangerous game but if it worked out maybe he'd get the opening he needed via the CCG to finally escape.

He nodded to himself as he decided to gamble his future on this decision. Besides if worse came to worse, he now had an ally somewhere in the nearby wards. He could use him to help hide away or get him out of a pinch. With his mind made he stopped and looked back at Jack. "I'll allow you to take it but I need you to do a couple things first. 1. What ward are you from? Let's be fair things can change and if I need your help I need to know where to go if shit hits the fan. 2. I need you to take some extra portion of the body. Arm, leg, organs, I don't care. The CCG need to think that the one who killed Sunshine was a ghoul on a binge fit. It'll make sure the shop and by extension I'm safe from their prying eyes."

"In case you're wondering I won't tell the CCG about you. I'll make up a description and a nickname I "heard" you say. But I do need to keep the story straight. Sound fair? And if it makes it easier to trust me, remember you can throw me under the bus as well. Humans not aligned with the CCG aren't allowed to have Quinque afterall. I'm certain they and perhaps other ghouls would very much like to know who has "lost" CCG weaponry. So what do you say?" He needed Jack to agree. If his plan had a chance of working and he could try and fool both the CCG and the court he needed this to happen. Black knew all too well just where he stood if any part of this fell apart. And even if it did fall apart at the end of the day he needed to near future to remain in one piece. So perhaps unbeknownst to Jack, Black was at his mercy. Here's hoping he'd agree and he could start this headache with one less on the list.

Black breathed a sigh of relief. Jack agreed to his plan and more specifically his conditions. Today was going to be his day it seemed. Now he just needed to get Jack out of here asap. As Jack went after Sunshine's heart and kakuhou he simply watched in silence. Once Jack was done with his part Dorian simply nodded and showed him to the back door behind the desk and in what could be considered a sort of "workshop / storage section. Once they were at the door Black looked back at Jack.


"I can understand why you wanted him personally. At least now you can focus on stopping others from your ward before someone else pulls this again. When it comes to "getting rid" of the evidence there should be a sewer entrance about 2 streets over behind some resturant. Drop it off in there and no one will ever find that. Heh maybe we'll even have the resturant shut down if someone does. It's not particularily good as it is." Black chuckled as he vividly remembered Dorian's response to the food he'd picked up there. Bad was an understatement as he'd actually thrown it away after having only eaten a small portion.


It wasn't until Jack was about halfway through the door that Dorian figured if nothing else he should get a name from the other. So before Jack left he spoke up for the last time, hopefully, so that he'd heard him. "Before you go, one last question. Do you have a name or something you go by? For the record, I'm Black or Kuro in public." This was the one question he wasn't certain if Jack would answer. Which to be fair he really shouldn't or he should give a fake alias until he was certain Black was a trustworthy sort. But even still something to go with would be better than nothing. Thankfully Black's real name and the "fake" name Kuro was in enough places that if Jack searched for him they'd find him easily enough. He wouldn't give up Dorians name until he was certain he wouldn't throw Dorian under the bus. But this would be a good half way point for the two to meet at.