CB-ST1: Evening Breeze's Kiss

CB-ST1 Evening Breeze's Kiss	Code of Brawl: Downtown Previous CB-5 (Story) Next CB-6 (Story)
There are always people who think, "Ah, everything is going according to plan." Coincidentally, everyone seems to thinks that thought.

Characters
Bison Fillet Mostima Capone Lin ??? Mafioso Uncle Tung Old Man Old Woman
Backgrounds
1 2 3

“

Capone betrayed Gambino. Mostima rescued Bison. The Rat King revealed his true nature. The breeze in Lungmen blows gently.

”

<Background black>
...... ...I always thought I was a pretty great Messenger. I delivered packages, letters and such. Sometimes they were sentimental, something they were valuable. Every once in a while, they were ruinous. My father is an amazing man. He moved from Minos to Lungmen and founded Mountain Dash Logistics. Profit, mutual interest, flattery. These are complicated things, and kind of annoying to deal with, but I push myself. My father once told me... The other side of the world will be even more dazzling.
<Background 1>
[The sound of a car stopping is heard.]
Bison	...Mmm! Where am I...?
Mafioso A	What're you mumblin' back there?!
Bison	......
Mafioso A	Quiet down, if you don't want a shiner. Once the boss is done with the Penguins, he'll decide what to do with you.
Bison	(I... these guys took me... is Texas still fighting the mafia with the rest of Penguin Logistics?) (Shit... Why aren't I more useful... I'm an MDL Messenger...) (...The car stopped.)
Mafioso A	It's us. The boss got the Forte kid... Wait, what're you doing?!
Mafioso B	Mr. Capone's orders.
Mafioso A	Capone? These are the boss's orders! Who does he think he is...?
[Capone appears...]
Capone	Who do I think I am?
[...and shot dead the mafiosi in the car.]
Bison	—!
Capone	Hello, MDL princeling. This is our chance to be formally introduced.
Bison	...You shot your own man?
Capone	Punishing traitors ain't against the rules in Lungmen.
Bison	That's not what I meant... what are you going to do with me?
Capone	Make a trade. It's pretty simple. Gambino's tough guy act is gonna destroy the Family for the sake of some so-called glory. I don't want that. Lots of people don't want that. Who wants to die for no good reason?
Bison	So what?
Capone	So I'm gonna help you with Gambino.
Bison	I don't trust you.
Capone	...And I can help you deal with Penguin Logistics.
Bison	......
Capone	I ain't stupid. I been in Lungmen a long time. I made a lotta preparations. Your father's an important man who owns over seventy percent of the private Messenger business in Lungmen. And he's got some strategic cooperation with the highest levels of Lungmen's government. No matter which way you look at it, Penguin Logistics is the biggest obstacle to your business success. Our goal is to take over all channels of Penguin Logistics. Do us this favor, and we can talk business again.
Bison	My father and Mr. Emperor have a very close relationship. I'm sorry, but you've played this all wrong.
Capone	MDL is a very big company. Your father alone really has the final say? I think you're underestimating us. It's true the Family has been through some tough times... But in days gone by, our ancestors sat around the dark tables of Siracusa and proudly called themselves "Sicilian." Power shifts, blood's spilled, and I'm all ears. Honestly, what do the people around your dad think of Penguin Logistics? What about Lungmen? And what do you think?
Bison	...You sure talk about family a lot for a man who just killed his own kin. You think I'll take your deal?
Capone	His death was purely... business.
Bison	Yeah. Who knows if you pay in cash or bombs.
Capone	...I'm sorry, I thought you'd be a little more mature. But here you're gonna throw your life away for some little thing that ain't got nothin' to do with you.
Bison	—!
Capone	You're scared. You're supposed to be some big shot MDL executive, but you ain't nothin' but a spoiled little brat.
Bison	...Sorry. Young Minoans are famous for their boldness.
Capone	Looks like you ain't gonna change your mind. If you'd lived, you'd see a lot more of this kind of thing. Too bad this is the end of the road for you.
Bison	(Grrr...! How is this rope so strong. I'm running out of time!)
Capone	If you die, MDL'll have no choice but to call in the LGD. Then they'll get mixed up and things'll get even crazier. Which is good for me. But now we're done talkin'. Say good night, little prince.
???	Hey, excuse me. If you lay hands on Bison, I don't think we can call that punishing traitors anymore. Why don't you just call it quits for today, hmm?
Mafioso	Who're you?!
Mostima	Just a Messenger passing by.
Capone	...You look familiar. A Sankta with horns. You were makin' trouble for us earlier.
Mostima	I'm honored.
Capone	None of my Penguin Logistics reports ever mentioned you. Who are you?
Mostima	Um... do I have to answer that? I'm just here looking for a lost package. Like a good Messenger would.
Mafioso	Mr. Capone, we got the place locked down. Everybody here's with you. She's on her own.
Capone	......
Mostima	What? Are you going to move or what? Doesn't matter to me. I'm ready anytime.
Capone	Hmph... a good Messenger. Nah. The bolt's locked and loaded. We all got our own business to worry about.
Mafioso	Mr. Capone!
Capone	If you wanna die, you're welcome to it. We do everything we gotta do to survive. Don't get it mixed up.
Mostima	...And you don't have to talk so spooky. I'm really just an ordinary Messenger.
Capone	A Sankta with a horn says she's ordinary? Who's gonna believe that one? I got no reason to fight you. Do what you want.
Mostima	A minute ago you were ready to go stone cold killer, now you're just letting me go?
Capone	That's how the mafia works. It's got all kinds of little exceptions I don't much like. But if the princeling ain't gonna cooperate, and I can't kill him, I'll just have to find another way.
Bison	......
Capone	We'll be seeing each other again tonight. Maybe. Hopefully Gambino will have dealt with you by then. Or hey, the other way around works for me too.
<Background fades out and in>
Bison	...He really left.
Mostima	You already got yourself out of the bindings, didn't you? Need a hand?
Bison	I'm fine. I can get myself up. Thanks for the help, Mostima.
Mostima	Where's everybody else?
Bison	Um.
Mostima	Heh. Your face says it all. It's been a rough one.
Bison	...Their pace... it's kind of hard to keep up with.
Mostima	I warned you. So you have any idea where they might be?
Bison	Texas said "to the ends of the earth." And that we'd meet up in an hour?
Mostima	Okay. Sure. I'll take you there.
Bison	The ends of the earth... what does that mean?
Mostima	Um... The origin of the name has been lost to history, but now we can say it's one of the boss's assets. And it's like a base of operations for us. People come from all over, at least people moving in the underground circles.
Bison	So it's like...?
Mostima	It's a bar.
Bison	......
<Background fades out and in>
Bison	Mostima, ma'am, what are we doing...?
Mostima	We're putting a sheet over ourselves and pretending to be one big ghost. It's the quickest and easiest costume.
Bison	No, what I mean is, why do we have to dress up one big ghost...?
Mostima	So we can blend in with the Sauin atmosphere. People will think we're just going to a party or something. That "Mr. Capone" may not have gone far.
Bison	—!
Mostima	Suddenly a black-horned Sankta wielding a staff comes out all aggressive and overbearing... A control freak like him is going to play it very carefully, right?
Bison	Y– yeah. Speaking of your staff... I just noticed it. Are you an Arts user, Mostima?
Mostima	It's from a long time ago. I did actually get some serious training. Pretty different from a certain lazy angel who sleeps all day.
Bison	Oh yeah... So you've known Exusiai for a long time.
Mostima	Haha. We should have been able to have a nice noisy chat during your fun welcome party. But the occasional explosion and ambush is par for the course for Penguin Logistics.
Bison	Is that right...?
Mostima	Something else?
Bison	I was just thinking about how even a Messenger like Mostima has times like this... what with all the mysterious rumors swirling around...
Mostima	Are you disappointed?
Bison	No! Not at all! That was very impolite of me to say, I'm sorry!
Mostima	I am a Penguin Logistics employee, after all. This great land is full of Messengers, in every nook and cranny. Adaptability is the first thing you should learn.
Bison	There sure are a lot of first things in this business...
Mostima	I just remembered, from here, we make a left, and then a right, then we go around the third alley here and... Yep. Shortcut.
<Background 2>
Bison	It's getting so late, but we only see more and more people coming out.
Mostima	That's the magic of Sauin. Pretty neat, huh? There's floats and stands and parties, and even some stinky sewer steam, just over the wall.
Bison	...pretty neat. Yeah.
Mostima	We're on a tight schedule. We need to pick up the pace.
<Background 3>
Bison	Is this a graveyard?
Mostima	Yeah, only Lungmen would have a cemetery right in the center city like this.
Bison	Those people are all wearing funeral dress.
Mostima	That kind of solemn mourning makes me think of my time in Laterano.
Bison	Laterano... what's that place like?
Mostima	You're very curious, aren't you?
Bison	I guess so. I just always wanted to see some faraway places. But somehow I never got the chance to get any international contracts... *sigh*.
Mostima	Intercity networks are a lot more developed than they used to be. You should have a lot of chances to leave. ...and the farther away you go, the more meaningful the experience.
Bison	Is traveling from country to country very difficult?
Mostima	Hm... If I had to choose, I'd say the biggest problem is the Catastrophes. If you run into one, then all of Terra turns against you. There was this time that I left the Catastrophe Messenger's report at the transit station and I ran into one. I was a few hills away though. The black clouds billowing around, the sky itself threatening you, it feels awful. Truly awful.
Bison	Catastrophes... if you're in a nomadic city, you shouldn't get hit.
Mostima	There's a lot of other problems. Cities move to avoid Catastrophes, sure, but that means the place you're trying to get can end up crawling away from you. Imagine that.
Bison	That sounds pretty frustrating.
Mostima	So you better make friends with some Catastrophe Messengers. And don't oversleep when you've got a date with one.
Bison	...Hehe. Talking like this, it feels like we're coworkers, Mostima.
Mostima	......
Bison	Oh, sorry, was that a bit much? ...Mostima?
Mostima	...Hm? Oh. I was just thinking of something. We have to go through the graveyard. Step lightly.
Bison	Okay.
Mostima	Do you know the origin of Sauin?
Bison	Where did that question come from? I heard it had something to do with ancient Sarkaz sacrificial practices...
Mostima	Sauin in fact comes from some ancient Sarkaz sacrificial rites, and long ago, the meaning of the name was even more complicated. Most holidays have something to do with sacrifice or worship. It's just that people have been forgetting for a very long time. People welcome back the souls of the departed, soothe whatever lingering issues they may have with the living, and send them on back. But nobody takes these things seriously anymore. The living sing and dance and dress up as ghosts. But the actual dead lay here in the graveyard, totally forgotten. It's not good.
Bison	When the pressures of life get to be too much, it's kind of natural to want to do something to soothe yourself and forget...
Mostima	We've all been through a lot. A Catastrophe is the surest thing in the world, after all. When you watch those mourners give their flowers and sweep their graves, doesn't it make you feel a little more peaceful?
<Background 3>
Bison	...Yeah. By the way, Mostima, back there you said you were looking for a lost package...
Mostima	Didn't I tell you?
Bison	What?
Mostima	Someone gave me a job with a big pile of cash, the job said "take Bison to see the world." Mmm. Real stylish job.
Bison	D- dad...!
Mostima	And I'm testing you here. Your scores are up to me.
Bison	Huh?
<Background 1>
Old Man	...it's so late. Nobody's out.
Old Woman	Oh, sweet child, growing up in my house, eating my food, and then going away just like that. Oripathy this, Oripathy that. You were always lost in your own thoughts.
Old Man	Uncle Tung's doing well. Business is good. He brought an apprentice with him the last two days.
Old Woman	You should be so lucky. Then you wouldn't make people worry. If you don't do good business, you have to...
Old Man	Would you quiet down, mommy?
Old Woman	As hopeless as you? Light the candle already!
Old Man	Where's my lighter... Oh, here it is.
Old Woman	*Sigh* As soon as the stupid boy learned to smoke, he disappeared. Come to think of it, I never gave him a light. Too bad.
Old Man	Too many candles. I'll light you a cigarette.
Old Woman	You're really lighting a cigarette? Moron! Get a candle already!
Old Man	Okay, okay, okay. Here.
Old Woman	Ah Faat...
Old Man	Now now, no crying on Sauin. Let's go. It's late. Let's go home and have Little Tung make us some noodles.
Old Woman	Noodles at midnight? ...Thank you kids for coming here. It's hard to see at night. You've been a great help.
[A Zalak girl is revealed to be the one helping the elders.]
???	...No problem. It was on the way.
<Background fades out and in>
Mostima	Oh. The wind.
Bison	It's kind of chilly.
Mostima	A cool evening breeze, the sweet smell of candy, and the sparkling lights of the city, this is the best Lungmen has to offer. Did you see that magnificent golden street? Like the midnight sun.
Bison	Yeah. Is that where we're going?
Mostima	East Sunset Boulevard 1301. The door has some giant penguin graffiti sprayed on it. You can't miss it. And I'm afraid you're on your own from here.
Bison	Penguin graffiti, got it... but where are you going, Mostima?
Mostima	Well, I can't look after you forever, can I?
Bison	That's true... But you kind of suddenly disappeared last time too...
Mostima	Sorry about that. Let's just say I have other business to attend to. You do your best to get along with the other kids.
Bison	O– okay.
Mostima	Good. See you around.
<Background fades out and in>
[Fillet checks on Uncle Tung at his home.]
Fillet	...Uncle Tung, what happened?
Uncle Tung	Ah Fil? I'm so glad you're okay. You hurry home as fast as you can!
Fillet	Who was it? The man from the docks? The gang of kids?
Uncle Tung	No, neither. You don't have to get involved this time. It was no big deal. Just a little setback.
Fillet	Uncle.
Uncle Tung	...The old folks went to sweep Ah Faat's tomb. Not that you'd know, but he was like a grandson to them. I saw them coming back and I thought I'd make some food for them. I ran into those men while I was bringing it...
Fillet	Who did it?
Uncle Tung	...All I know is they weren't from Lungmen. Don't you get involved!
Fillet	Right. Okay.
Uncle Tung	Ah Fil! It wasn't easy to get everything cleared up with the Oni... To clear up the misunderstandings with Inspector Hoshiguma. I got you a job, didn't I? Don't blow this!
Fillet	I know. Just rest up, Uncle. I'm going to find out what happened.
[Fillet leaves.]
Uncle Tung	Ah FIl, damn it, come back here! Where are you going?! ...Aiya! Why don't you listen?
???	Young people have their ways about them. You must be so proud.
Uncle Tung	...Lin? What are you doing here? Here to witness my shame?
[Lin (the Rat King) appears.]
Lin	You're Lungmen's premier finball master. You don't need to take a risk like this. Why not tell them? Is the Rat King so important? If the people can't enjoy the finest finballs, what then?
Uncle Tung	Rules are rules.
Lin	We made the rules.
Uncle Tung	...They're still rules.
Lin	But you were beaten for no good reason. I don't plan to stay in hiding.
Uncle Tung	Pfah. Who knows what you're scheming!
Lin	Right. Let me help you up. You've been a finball master for so many years, have your skills dulled?
Uncle Tung	I still have hands. I'll just need someone to watch. You'll do the honors? All I want is to live my life in peace. If I take a beating, then I take a beating.
Lin	Hah hah. It's heartening to see such spirit in an old friend.
Uncle Tung	You're the one they're after. What's heartening?
Lin	This is heartening.
Uncle Tung	...Don't you get tired of this?
Lin	Very tired, but we all have our responsibilities to bear. We carry a city on our shoulders.
Uncle Tung	I...
Lin	Sell your finballs. Concern yourself with nothing else. Can you walk? What would you say to a walk with me?
Uncle Tung	I'm fine. It's no big... Aaaaaagh! What are you doing?!
Lin	A flesh wound is still a wound. Same as you ever were, playing the tough guy. ...Let us speak no more of the past. This is the life you have chosen, and you have nothing to feel guilty for. Your finballs are a part of Lungmen. A more important part than me. You are already free.
Uncle Tung	Then why do I never see you taking care of my business?
Lin	...Let's talk about something else. How have you been lately?
Uncle Tung	I've heard Lungmen cuisine is getting popular in Columbia. I thought I'd see about moving out there to...
Lin	No.
Uncle Tung	......