The Nightpool of Fascination [Klein, Isamu]

When people moved, Klein moved in their shadow. When the world changed, Klein was always there to fill in a small gap. Why? That was how he stayed on top of things, of course. He'd never in his life think to stay away from burgeoning new prospects, where he could slide into an entire new market of targets.

New women. New buyers. New clients and social connections that could be made all too easily with he application of just a little bit of...grease, as it were. But doing so demanded that he establish an aboveground presence first, and that was why Klein now stood on the 57th floor of a skyscraper in Shanghai, staring out over the cityscape with a smile on his face. He'd bought out no less than the top 3 floors of this building, converted them all into a single space. Some might have thought it too much, but Klein? Well, he just saw it as an investment. It wasn't as if he was any stranger to this particular business, after all.

Picking up a glass from a passing girl in scant attire, Klein gave her a pat on the ass to let her carry on. His attention turned back to the three floors he'd turned into a single space, into this veritable palace of excess. Beautiful women, each and every one crafted by his own hand into a masterpiece, filled the area, made their presence known in one way or another. The scent of liquor, of smoke, and of sweat all mingled together into something that only those well-steeped in this sort of lifestyle could properly appreciate.

It was a place for those who appreciated the finer things in life, and who'd made something of themselves in life to be able to enjoy it. And Klein, the proprietor of such a place, had made sure that anyone who was anyone in Shanghai knew of this exclusive club. Even if it had risen out of nowhere, seemingly assembled overnight, it met every possible expectation that had been raised by the gossip.

As of tonight, Mist was open for business, and he walked toward the nearest patron with a grin.

"Enjoying the evening?"

Like a moth to a flame or a vulture to carrion, Isamu always gravitated toward any establishment that spoke to his hedonistic soul. Wherever there was a place to lose himself in mind-numbing pleasure and excess, he was there. It was a common fixture by now. Word of mouth in Shanghai had been high lately. Since he was occupying a place here for his interests, anyway, he saw fit to explore the nightlife for what it was worth. A worthwhile way to pass the time and alleviate boredom.

They called this particular establishment---Mist. According to the locals, it was relatively new compared to what it existed, but that didn't bother him much, truth be told. There was a sort of style he respected in the name, and of course, he had more than enough money to occupy himself for however long he pleased tonight. Much like he did in any establishment, it hadn't taken him long to adapt to the flow of the atmosphere here. Some women caught his eye, but there was a fine selection of many to choose from. Impressive.


In other parts of the room, he could see other partygoers losing themselves to the mind-numbing effects of drugs and alcohol. This, too, was a pleasant sight. All things considered, it was the sort of den he could find comfort in. At the sound of an approaching voice, Isamu turned his head toward the male with a smile as he nodded his head with a grin.

"I am. This is one hell of an establishment here. I didn't quite know what to think since word of mouth can be somethin' of a double-edged sword, but I can genuinely say I like what I see here. The owner of this establishment has damn good tastes."

"Now that's what I like to hear from my patrons."

Klein's smile only grew at the compliment offered his way, whether or not the man in front of him had already intuited his role as owner of this place. After all, anyone sensible would of course understand that Klein was a man of impeccable taste, who knew what was good in life. That was why the place was stocked with only the best.

"Then let me introduce myself, since I can see you're someone who can appreciate what I'm doing here. The name's Klein Blackburn. I run clubs all over the world, if you happen to be a traveling sort. Mist here is just the latest and greatest, but I'll be bringing the rest up to par soon enough."

Flagging down one of the many girls, she arrived in mere moments with a cheerful grin, eager to serve as always. Klein turned to his guest once again, pulling the cigarette from his own mouth and gesturing to the lovely lady at his side.

"Anything she can get you? Don't think that's just drinks, now. You describe the kind of girl you're after, I can have her in your lap in 10 minutes tops, or I'll sell this whole place for a penny. Long as you don't go making any requests so specific you've obviously got one particular woman in mind, of course."

The confident grin on Klein's face made it abundantly clear not only that such a thing was a genuine challenge, but one he had zero doubt he could accomplish.

"Hoh? Is that so? That's damn impressive. Pleased to meet ya, Klein. Name's Isamu Hagane. Guess I didn't need to go far to extend my compliment, huh?"

Isamu had an inkling, perhaps, that he might've been the head of operations here, but then, he could've been one of the partygoers enjoying the festivities. Either way, he was in good company right now. A man with good tastes. Everything about this establishment told him that much. Furthermore, his opinion of the guy only increased all the more when he called one of the many buxom women to his side, offering not only drinks but the confident claim that he could produce the company of any woman he desired at that moment. That was a mighty impressive claim, no doubt, and one he'd be foolish to turn down. After all, he came here to enjoy himself and get lost in the festivities. What was the use in starin' a gift horse in the mouth, right?

"Well, damn. Color me even more impressed. Guess I oughta put that to the test now. How about this as a starter, then? Killer looks. Nice round ass and a big chest. Exotic. Caramel-colored skin or tan would be nice, too."

Simple enough, right? It wasn't super specific. Hell, it wasn't even his exact option of choice. All in all, he wanted to test the waters and see how many women this man had at his disposal. Of course, he'd make sure not to be too greedy. Nothing wrong with sampling the offerings, right?

"Oh, by all means, don't be afraid to extend the compliments. After all, you'd just be saying the truth."

With a grin, Klein took a long pull from the cigarette in his hand, glancing back over his shoulder for a moment at a few of the girls currently wandering the floor. It seemed his guest here had picked a good way to test the waters. After all, here in Shanghai, that kind of woman might be a little hard to find. But that was assuming Klein was just some average club owner, and he was anything but that. Pulling out his cellphone, he dialed a number before bringing it to his ear, speaking quickly and confidently.

"Hey, send Lilli out here, chop chop, by the main window. 60 seconds, get to it."

Hanging up, Klein sent the girl at his side on her way, taking a sip of his drink as he watched for the woman in question. It took a mere 30 seconds for her to arrive, a tall, exceptionally busty woman with curly blonde hair and an impressive tan, accentuated further by a few facial tattoos and a healthy layer of golden lipstick. She said nothing as she arrived, merely offered a submissive bow as Klein gestured toward her.

"Well? What'd I tell ya? Anything you're after, I can make it happen."

"Well, damn..."

Isamu whistled appreciatively as the next buxom lady entered the room. It wasn't the type of woman he would expect to see here on such short notice, and testing the waters was a good way to see if there was bark behind his bite. Turns out, he had that sort of woman on hand and in thirty seconds, too.

On top of that, she was drop-dead gorgeous. He supposed that shouldn't have been so surprising since he was, according to his claim, a global club owner, but still. Stroking his chin as he leaned back and consumed his drink, a flow of curious thoughts dancing around in his head. Now, then... what next, what next...

"Anything I'm after, eh? Well, when you can bring women out like this at the drop of a hat, I'm inclined to believe ya. Alright, one more test on the female front. Armenian. Bombshell. Hourglass figure. Type of woman that'd just make the jaw drop the moment she steps in the room."

Another woman one wouldn't commonly find here in Shangai, but it was closer to his interests, and the height of exotic beauty to him. It was his final test on the female front and one that'd increase his already high opinion of the club owner sitting across from him.

Aha, now that was a proper request. Despite the specificity of it, however, Klein's confident expression didn't lessen in the slightest. No, if anything, it seemed as if he'd only grown even more cocky. After all, this meant he could really show off now. Finishing his cigarette, Klein handed the butt to Lilli, and did the same with his glass after emptying it of the liquor within.

"Now that's a request, Mr. Hagane. Lucky for you, I'm a man of my word. As promised, I'll have her here in less than 10 minutes. In the meantime, enjoy Lilli. She knows what she's doing, believe me."

Klein had made sure of that, after all. Not on his own, naturally, that would have been impractical. But his girls had plenty of experience, and it wasn't too hard to have them spread it around off the clock. Whether that was the old-fashioned way, or just fiddling around in their heads for a little bit. Standing up and giving Lilli a gentle push toward Isamu, Klein turned and began to walk into the back of the club, pushing past a locked door that was guarded by two impressively imposing figures. Once he was out of sight in the depths of the club's back of house, he grabbed a lab coat from a hanger on the wall, slipping a pair of glasses on as his expression quickly grew more severe.

"Get Minna in here, now. Tell her to hook herself into the tank, I'll do the rest after prep is done."

He had work to do, and he was on a time limit.

"Let's see if he'll shut me up twice..."

Isamu voiced those words to himself as he chuckled softly, shifting his gaze toward the woman he requested first. Even if this was a test choice, she was still damn fine to admire and share company with. Essentially, for the amount of time promised, that's what he decided he would do. He enjoyed the drinks that hit his table as they were poured by his buxom guest, and then he admired the view whenever her chest presented itself, and since she wasn't covered up, those moments were hardly rare.

All in all, he was enjoying himself, and he had to admit, the company of that club owner wasn't half-bad, either. He wasn't sure if he could call him a kindred spirit just yet, but based on each woman he saw in this club, he could tell they shared a mutual fascination for the female form. And if he could provide what he listed out? Shit, he'd give the man his flowers. That was talent. And he always respected talent. What was that old saying? Game recognizing game? Eh, close enough.