jigokufever | June 2022 Test Drive

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June 2022 Test Drive

1. CLEAN UP

The curse has broken, finally banishing the oppressive air around the city and the many sightless eyes of the accursed haniwa. Life will have to return to normal now but first there is lingering clean-up that must be attended to:

SHUTEN CLAN

The Shuten Clan is out in force to rebuild damaged storefronts. Eager oni appear in their festival happi, singing oni working tunes. You can pick up the words easily enough, join in and help out. The mood starts bright, but after a number of unlucky accidents there is less singing and more grumbling. The cursed energy left behind has made all of you much more prone to workplace accidents but the storefronts need to be scrubbed, broken glass needs sweeping, new furniture needs construction. There are any number of thumbs smashed by hammers, hands cut on saws, heads hit with falling debris or that board of wood you didn’t see someone carrying towards you. It’s a cursed day to be out on the job.

Rewards will come in the form of free drinks for a week from specific bars and a generous amount of chips for the casinos. If you aren’t of age to drink or gamble? Well… they’ll look the other way this time. Have fun.

It should be noted that the uniform -- a happi, a hachimaki, and fundoshi -- is required. The Shuten Clan is very traditional, after all.

TAMAMO CLAN

The bathhouses in Tamamo clan territory remain full of bloodied water. They need to be drained and scrubbed to make them new again. However, reaching the drains is a tricky business. You can’t simply reach in to pull out the plug, you will have to wade into the water to twist it free. Easy enough, right?

Unfortunately, residual curse energy has made this a very dangerous task. Phantasmal hands will reach out and try to drag you under as you get too close to the drain. The phantasms can be distracted, so you’ll need some teamwork to succeed. Your reward is a significant amount of free bath coupons. Some of the advertised baths even have “special” properties. Take the chance to relax, you probably need it.

Those that are rejuvenated in the newly purified baths will find themselves with seemingly limitless vigor. That vigor may sometimes manifest in the form of desperately needing to fuck the first thing willing to do so. Which might turn out somewhat embarrassing...

SUTOKU CLAN

The residual cursed energy in the Sutoku Alliance territory has congregated in their many arcades. The prizes in the UFO catcher machines seem off and they keep shifting around. If you happen to win a prize, the prize slot snaps shut on your hand with amazing force: the machine out for blood. To clear the curse, the prizes need to be removed from the machines and purified with the help of a local shrine maiden. Unfortunately, the key ring to open the machines has been stolen by some of the unruly prizes. You will need to use your UFO catcher skills to fish it back out.

Try not to lose any fingers.

Other machines are shooting tokens out of their coin slots at astonishingly painful speeds. A strange phenomenon, as even the machines that take swipe cards are doing it. Where are those tokens even coming from? You will have to get the machines open and give them a deep cleaning to get all the residual blood off the coins and mechanisms. You need the same keys that are stuck inside the UFO catcher…. Better hope you can fish out the one you need.

For your troubles, you will be given unlimited free plays for a month. Perfect for winning a totally-not-cursed prize for your sweetie.

ENMA DEPARTMENT

It’s the Department of the Enma’s turn to go begging for good will. They are considered to be mostly responsible for the way the cursed haniwa were handled in the first place. Enma souls should get out on the streets and see what the people need: Food, clean water, housing repairs and maintenance, as well as exorcisms. They’re all high on people’s priority lists and most people want it done pronto. Try not to get snappy with the angry people, the department’s reputation is on the line.

The Enma is slated to give a press conference at some point. It's up to the rest of the Department to assure that there will be reception to his words. They are likely to be of grave importance to the rest of the city.

A hard day’s work is its own reward, but you’ll also get a day pass to a theme park on the edge of the city – in the name of community outreach, of course.

2. GHOST SHARKS

The very streets themselves are treacherous with residual curses. The isonades may have been intimidated out of town for the moment but the anger of their ancestors lingers in the bloody puddles that still glisten in the streets. Come too close to these puddles and spectral sharks will lunge from beneath the surface: Blood for blood! Lives for lives!

While spectral in nature, the teeth on these sharks can still do real harm to anyone they lash out at. They don’t seem to take damage in kind, but will pop and disperse for a moment when struck. The ghostly sharks are being populated by a magic totem that has been partially buried in the dirt of a local park. Destroy it and the sharks will disappear.

Unfortunately, a pack of snotty local children have taken a shine to this magic totem. They are not keen to let you take it from them, nor break it. It’s theirs. It’s special. If you’re feeling brutish or cruel, you can fight the children or deceive them, but your boss would probably suggest you try to bargain with them for appearance’s sake. They’re entirely unreasonable though, as children can be, and it will be quite a chore to get them to agree to your terms.

3. CURSED CORNERS

There are certain corners and alleyways which are simply predisposed to gather cursed energy. These areas are still haunted enough to affect the reality around you. You may experience hallucinations or visions of lost loved ones, past regrets, personal failings. These visions are played out in the area for all to see. You will remain frozen in place until your moment is done, or someone brave comes to pull you out.

Now that the worst of it is over, some of the more morbid and voyeuristic members of the public may be lurking around these haunted areas, waiting to see what horrors will be unveiled. They have out their phones and their cameras to record the show.

The cruelest of the spectators provide commentary to their social media followings as they observe. Anything for that monetization!

The biggest of the streams is a kerakera onna who goes by her channel name: Lipsticki. She leans in over the rooftops to cackle loudly at people’s misfortunes and give petty, scathing commentary about their misdeeds and failings.

4. THE ENMA SPEAKS (PLOT RELEVANT)

Outside the hospital where the Enma was being treated, there is a huge press gathering. The judge arbiter has been deemed fit enough to release. Hungry for word, journalists from every publication swarm the area. Most press-outlets in the city are controlled by the Sutoku Alliance, who have a vested interested in interrogating the Enma.

A number of other onlookers have tacked on as well, including Lost Souls both old and new. Lost Souls may even find themselves ordered to attend the statement by their faction.

It is assumed that the Enma must have something of grave importance to say, after all.

The Enma approaches the podium. He is dressed in his usual suit, his crown, and his stern expression; it puts a hush over the crowd through its tremendous pressure alone. No questions have been asked, yet, but a statement has been prepared. He clears his throat:

"The cause of the curse, the enemy of Jigokucho, is... Haniyasu. The Department's focus will be shifting to determining our next action in regards to this entity. That is all."

Just like, the Enma's secretary and a retinue of armored shinigami move to flank the Enma and guide them to a waiting limo down the steps. The press yells their questions over one another, but are pushed back. The Enma doesn't even seem to perceive them, simply focusing on getting into the car.

Unfortunately, if you're a representative for one of the factions -- especially the Department of the Enma -- that makes you fair game to hound for questioning too. Do you stand your ground or try to run away?

[[banner art by s-tokimura]]

Welcome to the test drive meme!

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NEWBIE TOP LEVELS

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[Kazuma has thus far managed to... if not truly become used to the bizarre happenings around him, then at least to take them in stride. He finds that simply accepting the events around him without thinking about them too hard means he can move through things as they happen with a sort of false calm. Maybe he's only delaying a breakdown for later, but for now, at least, he can continue to function mostly as normal.

The sheer surrealness of seeing a middle aged man trying to clean what looks to be a ludicrous amount of blood out of his motor car does make him stop and stare for a second, though. It's not like Kazuma hasn't noticed the blood all over everything else, but the mundane absurdity of this scenario makes him bark out a laugh.

...Which he quickly bites down and covers up by clearing his throat, using a fist to hide his smile. Still no reason to be rude.]

Um, excuse me, sir. Do you need a hand?

[ Kim looks at Kazuma - a well-mannered looking young man, in a rather nice black suit - and then down at himself, drenched in blood from navel to neck. He's in the middle of trying to wipe himself down a bit with a damp cloth, but the general effect is that rather than getting clean, he's simply moving the blood around.

He raises a brow at him. ]

Are you asking to be polite, or are you asking because you actually want to help? [ He asks frankly, dropping the damp cloth back into the bucket of water at his feet, already gone coppery though he had recently emptied and refilled it. Blood squelches underneath his feet, draining in rivulets between his toes. ] Because I don't wish this task on anyone. You'd certainly get your nice suit all dirty.

[Kazuma looks down and picks at said suit, the same gakuran he'd arrived in. For a while, the only clue he'd had to his identity--that he could be a student of some kind, though even that evidence is circumstantial at best. The only possession he has at all, by extension the most important thing he owns purely for the lack of owning anything else. Kim couldn't know any of that, of course.

It is black. Kazuma looks back up at Kim and shrugs.]

...It's not like it will show.

[And scrubbing blood out of a motor car seems like one of the more interesting things to do in life. Certainly, he can imagine no other opportunity for it would be this innocent. Just to prove the point, he walks forward to take one of the less soiled towels from the bucket and comes to stand next to Kim, bending over to peer inside the main carriage and inspect the damage.

It's extensive.]

I'll be honest, I don't know how much this seems to be helping. Assuming it was white before.

[ Kim puffs his cheeks out, clearly annoyed at the whole situation. ]

It's helping. You should have seen it before I got started. But it's going to take time. Time and elbow grease.

[ Kim is not, as many of the younger crowd here would suggest, over the hill. He takes great pride in the fact. He works out regularly, eats well, keeps fit, can run around all day with the best of them -- but this side of forty, he's nonetheless no longer meant to spend hours craned over his vehicle doing menial labour. The spirit is willing, but the flesh no longer wishes to be doing this.

He rustles around in the convenience store bag just beside the Kineema for a plastic bag filled with rubber gloves - a three-pack - and offers it to Kazuma. ]

If you want to help, I certainly won't stop you. But put these on first -- the amount of bleach we're working with here, you'll regret it if you don't. [ He takes a step back, surveying the damage. It's gotten less and less red as he's scrubbed, but he can't say he's fond of the mottled pink shade it's turning either. Poor thing. ]

What's your name?

[Kazuma winces.

He should have expected this, of course. Someone's own name is the most basic information you could ask of a person, the one thing you would assume they would never be without. If he'd wanted to avoid this coming up, he has only himself to blame by inviting himself into other people's business.

Maybe he can at least delay this for a little bit. Kazuma makes a show of being distracted by the tub of bleach instead, leaning over to take an inquisitive sniff.

Which wasn't a great idea, because it smells awful.]

What exactly is in this? It smells like chlorine.

You don't know what bleach is...?

[ Kim frowns, realizing now that his new companion must be from a very different world - or very different time - than his own. Despite his knowledge of such things occuring here, he hasn't met many of them personally, having habitually found himself in the company of those whose world's technology far surpasses his own.

Not that it's slipped his attention that he had ducked an innocuous question. But that can wait. ]

It does have chlorine in it, so you're close. It's a watered down solution containing sodium hypochlorite. It can burn your skin quite badly, and when mixed with other chemicals, you'd be on your way to making mustard gas. So huffing it will be detrimental to your health in the long run. I can't say I recommend it.

[ He dabs some on the rag he's working with, getting back to scrubbing the side of the Kineema's upholstery. ]

But there's nothing like it for stain removal, so I suppose there's that. [ What's a little lung damage in comparison to a nice clean home? The human condition in a nutshell. ]

Yes, I've heard of sodium hypochlorite--mostly for its use in disinfection.

[He surprises himself for having the knowledge. It continues to be strange, the kinds of things he does actually know. How can he remember things like learned facts but not his own name?

It's an even more surreal feeling that his own forgotten experience apparently doesn't jive with what he's being told. Where had he learned any of this? Where was he from?

If he is going to have an existential crisis over every mundane detail, living here will prove to be very exhausting.]

I wasn't aware it could be made into a liquid in such large quantities. I appreciate the warning; I'll be careful.

[Another point for... wherever he is. Another universe? The future?

In any case, he feels like he understands the situation well enough now, and takes his own pair of protective gloves--another novelty, but he tries to be a little less obvious in gawking at these, grabs a towel, and gets to work on the other side of the car.

He only hopes that the topic has moved along enough for Kim to have forgotten his unanswered question.]

Yes, it's common in hospitals and the like.

[ He watches Kazuma move appraisingly; though he appreciates the help, it is odd that someone would want to help with this so soon after arriving. It says something about the kid's character. He's just not sure what yet. He meets Kazuma's eyes from across the carseats, choosing to be frank. He usually does when he feels he has the luxury to do so. ]

Unless you've arrived with people from home, nobody knows who you are here, [ he says, watching the blood run down Kazuma's yellow gloves in drivulets. It's harder to watch than it is to do, he finds. ] If you need to give a fake name, nobody will be any the wiser. But giving one will go more smoothly for you than ducking the question.

[Kazuma chews his lip as he focuses on what he's doing, silent and avoiding Kim's gaze for several seconds. So he hadn't been as subtle as he'd hoped. And with a question that pointed, there's no dodging it any further; he'll have to fess up or lie.]

To be fair, you haven't given me yours either.

[...Or deflect. Kazuma considers leaving it there, leaving the ball in the other man's court, but he knows that would only be delaying the inevitable. He's already been called out.

So he inhales, exhales, and steels himself to rip off the bandage. So much for playing close to the chest.]

I can't give you my name because I don't remember it.

[ Another time, in another place, Kim would regard that statement with a healthy dose of skepticism. Try again, he'd tell him. If you're going to come up with a lie, at least come up with a good one. Unfortunately, he no longer the skeptic he once was, in part because this kid is unbelievably the third person with memory troubles he's met in the past six months. ]

Oh. That's... very unfortunate. I'm assuming it's not just your name that you've forgotten. Mine is Kim Kitsuragi, by the way.

[ He regards Kazuma for any sign of a joke, but sees none in his staunch, serious expression. ]

Do you remember anything before arriving here?

[It takes a moment for Kazuma to respond, stunned that Kim is simply taking him at his word. He probably wouldn't believe him, if he were Kim. He hardly believes it himself and he's the one with the memory problems.

Finally, it dawns on him that Kim has not only accepted this without batting an eye, but he's also asked a question while Kazuma's been busy gaping.]

I--no. That is, arriving here is the first thing I remember. For all I know I've never been anywhere else.

[That's not entirely true; there is one thing he remembers, but it feels intensely personal and he is not about to tell it to Kim, regardless of how surprisingly even-tempered he is.]

That sounds... hm. [ Kim squints at Kazuma as he takes in his words. There is no trace of artifice in his expression. His shoulders relax. ] Terrifying, to be honest. This isn't the sort of place I would like to wake up in knowing nothing about myself.

[ There's only so much that they can gather from context clues. Kim is certain he could figure some of his deal out through enough time spent with him, but unlike Harry, there's nobody else who knows the kid around to fill him in - as far as he's aware - no identifying information, no familiar places to spark his memory. ]

If you've been sorted into a clan, then you don't belong here. It's as simple as that. [ His lips twist in thought. ] I suppose it's not a breach of privacy to share that my partner also suffers from amnesia, though he remembers everything up to about a week prior to arriving here. He tends to tell people as much as soon as he speaks to them.

[ Kim really wishes he wouldn't. It's weird, and uncomfortable. ]

He'd be of more help than I am on a philosophical level, but... there really aren't too many reasons for amnesia. You don't look as though you have a history of recent substance abuse - [ his eyes are clear and bright, his figure slim but not emaciated, no tremors in his hands, nor yellowing of his fingernails ] - and it doesn't look as though you've recently suffered from any medical emergency... but you should get checked out at the clinic for a thorough examination, just in case. I don't suppose you've noticed that you've suffered a head wound or anything like that?

[Kazuma isn't sure what to say to that, so he doesn't say anything for a moment, continuing to do his part on the car's interior in silence. Terrifying, is it? He supposes so, though it wouldn't occur to him to describe it that way. Since he... came to awareness here he's been sort of taking things as they come, no matter how absurd, and not stopping to think about them too much. Maybe it's a coping mechanism, to keep from dwelling on how helpless the entire experience makes him feel.

If anything, it feels like simply accepting, enduring, and still moving forward is the only option available to him. At least it's something to know that he's not the only one dealing with this, even if it's not exactly the same situation.]

I don't know if it's reassuring or not that I'm not the only one with this problem. [He tries to keep his tone light, like he's telling a joke.] But no, I've no idea what could have caused it. My head is a bit sore, I suppose, but I assumed that was a normal response to waking up to... all of this.

Your head is sore? [ Kim frowns. ] That sounds a bit different from just a stress headache. I'm not a doctor, but I've got some medical experience -- I'm one of the volunteers at the Clinic, you see. May I take a closer look?

[ He gestures towards taking off his gloves. Kazuma has a full head of hair (lucky bastard), so it will likely take some manipulating to see if he has a substantial head wound, but he's confident he'll be able to find something. Improbable thought it may be, it's much more respectable than amnesia through substance abuse. ]

And for whatever my opinion is worth, I do think there's something reassuring in that, [ he says, trying for optimism. ] They've made it work well enough for them. You can too.

[Kazuma... makes a face. Kim seems earnest and trustworthy in his request, but something in Kazuma galls at the idea of letting a perfect stranger go poke at his head.

...But Kim's also not wrong, and Kazuma isn't so prideful that he can't recognize refusing to get checked out just because of discomfort is a pretty dumb thing to do.]

Maybe wait until we're done here?

[He smiles and shrugs. They are in the middle of cleaning a car, after all, and Kazuma's hands are covered in bleach. Maybe he's just stalling, but it makes for a good excuse.]

Thank you, though. If nothing else, I appreciate the sentiment.

[ Kim frowns. It's true that Kazuma has been upright and functional this entire time, but it doesn't sit well with him that the boy has just been wandering around with a potentially grievous head wound. But he seems to be alert and functional now, and Kim can't very well just run up to him and start digging his fingers into his scalp, so he'll have to respect his decision for now. ]

All right, [ he says gingerly. ] If it were still dangerous, you'd hardly still be upright. But it's still safest to get it checked out as soon as possible. [ He squeezes out one of his rags, pausing to stretch out his neck. ]

If I don't do it, at least go to the Clinic when you've had a moment. We've got proper doctors there anyway. Until then... I suppose you've got to think about what to do next. See what you're good at.

[Kazuma allows a sly smile, one that deserves to be paired with an eye-roll. He may not have his memories, but he's apparently familiar with concerned dad types.]

All right, I'll see someone about it, I promise. [And he will! ...Two months later. For now, he continues doing the job he volunteered for.]

I... do appreciate your advice, sir. It does seem that is the only option left to me, at least for now. [He chews over this, looking solemn. Where does one begin to "see what you're good at"? What he's capable of seems to manifest itself as it happens--he has no idea how to prompt these things to emerge.]

I hope, at least, that I can count cleaning motor car interiors on my list of appreciable skills. [At least he can joke.]

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June 2022 Test Drive

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