Silence in Suspicion [Ryoichi/Jiyan]

The moment he touched down in China, Ryoichi had been asking about his daughter. Whether it be in official locations like asking police stations or general populace, he was trying to narrow down the area he needed to be searching in to find leads on her. But, time had flown by faster than he thought. So, as the evening sun began to wane, Ryoichi found himself heading to the red-light district.

On his way there, he noticed a man also heading there. He was as tall as Ryoichi, but, even while tailing him, he could tell that this guy seemed a lot more...poised. That impression only furthered as he looked over his shoulder toward Ryoichi. He didn't want to start a fight, and, given the direction they were going in, the guy could easily just need something to take the edge off after a long day.

So, Ryoichi didn't say anything as he followed him, eventually tailing him as he went inside the lecherous establishment. He walked over to the bar, ordered a shot, and drank it as he stretched and made his way over to the viewing area.

Upon sitting down, he propped his leg up on the other, waiting for the show to start. He noticed that the guy he'd been tailing had sat down across from him. Guess he was keepin' an eye on him like he had been with him outside. Well, at least the show was starting, so he wouldn't have to worry too much about it. However, as the woman made her way onto the stage, Ryoichi's expression went from calm and relaxed to...visibly unimpressed.

The girl wasn't all that nice to look at, and there were only some aspects of the performance that were relatively nice. He'd gone in with the intent of just having a bit of mindless fun and look at some eye-candy for the night, but now...he just kinda felt bad for the woman. Taking a cursory look around, it seemed like the not-too-attractive-ness was a widespread thing in this club.

Guess they'd picked out a below average place. Unlucky, and Ryoichi was already kinda regretting this. He didn't doubt that the ladies were fine as people, but as strip club models? Yeah, no. But, hey, maybe they had a nicer looking one that was getting ready to come out. He had his doubts about that, but, it wasn't too big of a time-waste in the end, now was it?

Man, some of the people here really didn't have the best standards. His gaze flicked over to the other, much noisier patrons that were throwing cash and cheering the girl on. Ryoichi tossed a small amount in with the rest, offering the girl a small, but still warm smile. She wasn't the most attractive lady in the world, but the performance wasn't the worst he'd seen.

As the girl cleaned up the discarded cash and gave a smile, Ryoichi gave a light nod and smile in return, one that was quick to fade as she walked off stage, out of sight. The man sighed as he took a look around, making sure to be subtle as he glanced at the guy he'd been tracking. He didn't seem any more impressed than he was, but, he also just seemed confused in general.

Just then, he found himself being tapped on the shoulder. His head turned, and a group of men with drinks in their hands had asked for his seat, under the guise of wanting a closer look at the women. Chuckling softly, Ryoichi shrugged and stood up, gesturing to the seat for them as he walked back to the bar, ordering two glasses of what he had prior, before making his way over to where the other man was, offering him one as he sat down.

Really, there wasn't a whole lot of places to sit. This place was filling up pretty quickly with all sorts of seedy and less than savory individuals, so, Ryoichi was ultimately forced to sit down next to the person he had tailed in here. Maybe he'd make first contact, ask about why Ryoichi had been following him, or maybe something else relating to the establishment in general.

Whoa, guy had a pretty intense stare. Eyebrows raised in surprise as Ryoichi turned to face him. Though he was surprised, he maintained an air of cool calm. He was wondering why the guy looked so intense when he was walking toward the place, and, frankly, this reaction didn't really give him any pointers as to what kind of person he was. His eyes flicked to his peripheral, seeing the sudden flutter of cash that the man threw, before raising his hands slowly as he went to look back at him.

"You looked pretty intense when you were walkin' down the street, y'know. Looked like you were on a mission to get here. I just followed you in 'cause I wanted to have some eye-candy for the night. But, uh..."

He turned to look at the new performer, his eyebrows raising as his face contorted into an expression that basically said "yikes," before turning back to face Jiyan. Thankfully, she'd been facing away from him when he did that.

"...Not really the best place. Seems like you've got better standards than the other guys in here, though."

He gestured to where he had just been sitting, the group of men cheering and tossing cash like they were nothing more than leaves in the wind.

"So, what brings you to a place like this, huh?"