jigokufever | February 2022 Test Drive

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February 2022 Test Drive

1. ENTRY

It feels like a dream as you wake up in what appears to be a government office. It is remarkably mundane: white walls, small screens with the number that is being served and at what desk, chairs along the perimeter of the room, and pleasant music playing from unseen speakers. There's nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Then you take a look at the inhabitants in the office: Lost Souls and youkai alike make up the ranks of a never-ending line in front of a desk manned by an akaname in a suit. However, another youkai, a hyakume, is your first contact in this world. You're instructed to take a number and stand in the queue. Take a seat if you want– but you're reminded to be quick when your number is called or you'll be passed by.

Congratulations: you're in Hell.

If you're lucky, you're in line behind a fellow Lost Soul. If you're less lucky, you're stuck behind any number of youkai that may be disturbing to look at or ones that may actively try to harm you. The ones with long arms may even try to steal your ticket from further back in the line.

Make small talk, try not to freak out, and keep your ticket safe (or maybe try to steal a better one) as you make your way up in the line.

2. THE CITY

Once you've been processed through the line, you're given your assignment to one of the four possible clans with directions to their respective clan offices. The city itself looks remarkably similar to a modern Japanese city, complete with narrow alleyways connecting wider streets. Glaring neon signs advertising various businesses compete for your attention, even the most mundane businesses.

Once you tear your attention away from the myriad distractions, your task is to find your way to the office. The akaname didn't exactly give you clear directions, just a piece of paper with an address printed on it. You’re on your own to find your way there.

Those assigned to the Shuten Clan are directed to the gambling district.
The Tamamo Clan members are directed to the red light district.
New members of the Sutoku Alliance are pointed to the entertainment district.
Those assigned to The Department of the Enma are sent to the administrative district.
Ask your fellow Lost Souls for directions or stubbornly find your way to the office all on your own. No matter how you get there, once you've made your way to the office you're given your lodgings (for rookies, it’s always the cheapest inn or apartment block in the area) and told to go out and get a feel for the city.

3. STREET FIGHT - SHUTEN TERRITORY

Scuffles break out all the time in Jigokucho, especially in the district dominated by the Shuten Clan. Whether it's a rival clan posturing over someone being on the wrong turf, shakedowns of all sorts, or just someone with a chip on their shoulder picking a fight: it always draws a crowd of onlookers.

No matter what street you're going down or what you're on your way to do, there always seems to be a fight to block the way. Take a look, take bets, or maybe you're the one caught in the brawl. Maybe someone decided they didn't like the way you looked at them or maybe they're trying to catch you in a petty scam. You may also feel the need to step in when fights are looking particularly one-sided.

Get used to this happening.

4. STICKY PAWS - SUTOKU TERRITORY

One of the more adorable features in the city is a cat cafe. Located within Sutoku territory, it always draws a steady crowd. If you're lured in by the adorable cats in the window, you're welcomed into a pleasant, cat-friendly environment with cats of every shape, color, and size lounging on various surfaces while being doted on by patrons. Of course not everything is as it seems: these are no ordinary cats. They're bakeneko in disguise and this cafe is a clever way to spirit away a few more coins for the Sutoku Alliance's coffers.

You may notice your wallet is a few (thousand) bills lighter at some point during your visit or your wallet may be missing entirely. Maybe it was one of your fellow patrons helping themselves while you were playing with a cat or maybe it was one of the cats. Who's to say? You quickly realize this place is not on the up and up; you have to do something about it.

Chase down one of the cats, confront your fellow patrons, or maybe try to shake down the owner for information. The latter won't get you very far, but maybe it'll make you feel better about losing your cash to a cute scam.

5. HELP WANTED - TAMAMO TERRITORY

CW: potentially NSFW, optional aphro

If you find yourself in the red light district, you might find yourself pulled into something else entirely. A scout in front of one of the numerous clubs drags you in off the street, assuming you're from the Tamamo Clan. It doesn't matter if you are or not, the scout is not listening to your protests. They say something about staffing shortages as you're shoved into the employee area of the club. The club manager then pushes some clothes at you and tells you to get out onto the floor once you're dressed. It might be a host club, it might be a bikini or banana bar, or maybe something even more salacious – whatever it is, you're working there for the night.

There are also barkers aggressively recruiting clients for these clubs, promising a good time for anyone who wants it. Whether it be the company of a pretty host or hostess, the lurid appeal of a strip show, or perhaps even other pleasures of the flesh: there's plenty to tempt even the most resistant.

Work at a club for the night or partake in the pleasures. Drinks flow like water, some with a little something extra to help things along. Everything is transactional here. As you have the money, you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy.

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[There are certain streets that are nice- for Hell- but there are certain streets that are just the slums. Ethan feels more comfortable in those slums. Nah, not comfortable, but normal. The slums were at least more like the usual. He knows if he goes to check in with his assigned faction he'll be put up in a decent place. He's done it before. Still, it's going to be a lot of paperwork and- the odds of someone like the Doctor or the folks at Rhodes Island being there were slim.]

[So, he takes a break, in a place where he can be discovered by people equally inclined to take a break.]

You alright, mister? [the voice pops up from the alleyway]

[What looked like a jacket discarded next to some trashbags quickly reveals its true form. The "trashbag" turns from black into a neon blue, scaled tail. The discarded jacket shuffles into a sitting position. The ruddy red of the bricks fades from Ethan's cheeks, revealing his face. There was surely nothing kinder for a middle-aged man experiencing culture shock than to have his alone time suddenly revealed to not be alone by a tramp of a lizard-man.]

[(Well, maybe it was nicer than just waiting there and seeing what he could hear.)]

Merde --

[ Kim visibly startles once what he had dismissed as a lump of sullen trash suddenly unfolds into a person, though he manages to keep his grip steady on his cigarette. Good thing. If he'd been surprised and wasted his precious one-a-day, he would have been really upset instead of occupying the general sensation of being moderately upset that he's been all day. And -- is that a tail?

Kim takes a long, deliberate drag of his cigarette and exhales slowly, the smoke parted by his tongue and drifting up into the sky in a long, heady cloud of chestnut. It doesn't solve anything, but he can at least savour the nicotine flooding through his veins. ]

Yes, [ he says tersely. ] Fine.

[ Standing in a shitty alleyway and having a cigarette is his god-given right as a Revacholiere. Crouching like a bag of trash is not, regardless of his appearance. All right. Fine. Everything is fine. Everything is normal. He's going to ignore the tail. It would be rude to comment on it anyway. ]

Are you all right?

[Ethan would insist it was not his intent to startle, scare, or coax curses out of anyone. He still chuckles a little when it happens, though. It gave the kind of feeling of ah, I've still got it that was reassuring when everything else was so strange.]

What, were you worried I was curled up there because I got the snot beat out of me or something?

[... or, well, would it be more worrying if someone was lounging in an alley pretending to be trash without needing to lick their wounds?]

Real nice of you, if you were. Just felt like having eyes off me for a bit before I went and reported. I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to go through "employee onboarding" again, y'know? Paperwork, or medical exams, or who knows what they're gonna ask us for...

[The short, terse words from the stranger gave Ethan the idea that he could just fill the silence, if he wanted. While the situation was undoubtedly weird, there were bound to be a whole bunch of normal things laced into it just like that long wait just to get checked into the place. Might as well gripe about the usual.]

Or that you were hiding from something, or someone. All things considered, it's not an unrealistic guess.

[ Revachol is not what you'd call a safe place to live in, but the open animosity with which people seem to regard each other here is a bit ridiculous. Fights break out in the streets without any indication of anyone adhering to any sense of order, and without the proper history at his disposal (Kim has gotten far enough to figure out that there are factions, but little else), it certainly wouldn't surprise him to see one or two people nursing their wounds in the little alleways of the city.

It's a relief that's not the case. It's not as though Kim has a first-aid kit with him anyway. ]

I don't believe they could ask us for paperwork. We didn't exactly bring our belongings with us, yes? [ He grimaces. ] Asking us to undergo medical exams is feasible, though.

[ He hadn't thought of that. He's not looking forward to it. ]

Is that what your last job entailed?

Edited 2022-02-28 10:16 (UTC)

[There is the faintest pause as the idea of hiding from something comes up. It's a very realistic guess. It's a lot more in-line with the mentality he's used to. It just wasn't followed up by the person pulling away in fear and disgust and muttering, "Infected."]

[Well, best not to look a gift Hell in the mouth.]

It's not like I had many papers back then anyways! They still found like seventeen pages for me to sign my name on in six places.

[And a list of names to assist with and provide information on. That's the kind of thing you don't bring up in polite company. Ethan sighs dramatically, as if remember the ghosts of file forms past.]

Most of the paperwork I did after getting hired, though, I guess it wasn't that bad. Sometimes, my mission would be to hide in an alley just like that and report if anyone important went by! Of course, I was able to do a better job than pretending to be trash...

[ Kim takes a long drag of his cigarette. It's funny. This is the most normal conversation he's had all day, with someone who is realistic enough to be worried about what's in store for them, and he's having it with some lizard man hiding in the trash. Well, beggars can't be choosers. ]

Espionage work, then, [ Kim translates. It says an awful lot without saying anything at all; it could be anything from corporate espionage to police or military work to unsavoury gang-related activities. Probably not gang work. They're not big on their paperwork. ] What was it for? If you're at liberty to say.

[ It's not as though anything about this person's employers will mean anything to Kim. Nobody like this exists in Revachol. ]

Hehe, you got it in one.

[Ethan chuckles, wrinkling his nose as he does so. There were a lot of nastier terms for the things he did. Even the most neutral ones, like "informant" still had a cadence to them that implied that for every person he was honest with there was someone he was dishonest with. The fact this man's able to quickly put a name to it, without obvious judgment, is kind of a relief compared to talking around it in circles.]

A pharmaceutical company, Rhodes Island. Well, on paper it's just a pharmaceutical company, in reality we end up getting pulled into all sorts of things.

[It's true that there's not really much he can spill that would get back to him. Still, he wants to dance around certain terms, from a mix of his own personal hesitance and the lengths it would take to explain to someone from a completely different kind of place.]

So, sometimes I might be keeping an eye on a politician who's using a crisis to line his pockets and sometimes I'm out in a real combat zone.

A real crisis zone...?

[ Kim frowns, a small line appearing between his brows. ] You're right, that doesn't sound like corporate espionage to me.

[ A good cover, perhaps. Kim doesn't know much about international law, but in Revachol, corporate espionage is frowned upon but entirely legal. It wouldn't be the first time someone claimed that something unrelated was corporate espionage to try to squeeze by without being penalized. Whether they succeeded or not was up to how crafty the officer was in writing them up -- which depended on how the officer felt about it, of course. He looks Ethan over, curious despite himself. ]

What is it off paper?

Well, yeah, the kinda stuff Rhodes Island is looking for a cure for doesn't have a lot of fame or money attached to it.

[Corporate espionage followed the money, didn't it? Rhodes Island had some high-grade weaponsmiths in their service but they usually came to the place to get away from that kind of profit-chasing culture. They were there because they wanted to do something. He's not as much of a goodie-goodie to say they wanted to do the right thing but there were plenty of places out there doing the wrong thing.]

[Ethan shifts a bit from one foot to another. What he had started as a humble brag, listen to this cool stuff I can do, suddenly was brushing up against the idea of what this place was and meant to him.]

Off paper, well... [he settles on something to say, bouncing back to a more joking tone,]

If we weren't good guys, we could probably take over a city? Some of the people working for us, y'know, I can hold myself in a fight but some of our operators are like a walking Catastrophe.

"Silent we shall be, should conflict be avoidable— but fight tooth and nail, should it be necessary." [he recites it, clearly not his own words but a creed he's heard stated. It had been necessary. It would continue to be necessary.]

... then again, I'm making it sound all scary. This is also the same kinda workplace where the punishment for stealing from the kitchens is holdin' up one of those signs, like I'm a kid or something!

[ This is when things start to get interesting. And a bit alarming too, Kim admits to himself. Any faction with any amount of power that spends any amount of time calling themselves the good guys rarely are in Kim's experience; he has laboured underneath too many shattered illusions in his youth to be able to take anything like that at face value. But despite Ethan's odd appearance, he does look young in the face. Old enough to grow facial hair, but perhaps not much more than that. He takes a thoughtful drag of his cigarette, mulling it over.

There are many things he can ask. But it's probably for the best not to barrage him with a whole list of questions, all at once. ]

Stealing from the kitchen is a small offense, compared to the sorts of things you could do to cross an organization like that, [ he points out. If they were to be betrayed, whether through counter espionage or deliberate sabotage, he doubts that any organization with fighters considered to be walking catastrophes would be inclined to show mercy. ]

I've never heard of a Rhodes Island. But... you mentioned a cure? For what?

[Ethan's not leadership, he doesn't have to handle the delicate tightrope walk of the organization and how they're viewed by the world. He just knows the equal and opposite side of the equation. Then again, with the "bad guys" defeated you can't really define yourself in relative terms anymore.]

Yeah, well, plenty of places wouldn't mind batting out the corporal punishment for that sort of thing either.

[He'd thought the whole sign thing was a joke, until he was handed one and forced to stand with it. It's a demeaning experience! Good thing he never went to school and had to do it, imagine the strain on his psycho-social development. On top of, y'know, everything else.]

... uh, [a very brief hesitation,] Oripathy.

Apparently it's just Terra's problem because there's no sign of it down here. Guess they decided it was too much, even for Hell. [a quick laugh, but it's missing the jovial note of the rest of his words]

It's this disease where crystals end up growing inside of you and screw everything about your organs up. So plenty of places, yeah, they don't want the Infected anywhere nice. Our boss at Rhodes says even if we cure it there's still gonna be plenty to do with fixing all the mess that made and all the people who died because of it.

[ This isn't the first time Kim has been confronted with the issue of people being from entirely different worlds here, but it's a little jarring nonetheless to be confronted by the scope of it, again and again. He makes a mental note of it. Terra. Oripathy. He'll write it down properly later, he decides; it may not be useful, but there's few ways of feeling in control of ridiculous situations like keeping a running log of it. ]

It must be, [ he agrees. ] I've never heard of it.

[ It sounds awful. No moreso than innumerable other diseases that cause organ failure, but awful nonetheless. The segregation is by far the more alarming notion of the two. At the very least, this kid's stated goal is a noble one. If true, though he's given Kim no reason to doubt him. ]

I hope your people do manage to find a cure. [ He pauses. ] By not wanting them anywhere nice... you mean in your world, they isolate the ill? Is it for issues of contagion?

[For Ethan, the best way to accept the idea there were radically different worlds out there was just to not think about it too hard. That was his strategy for enduring a lot of things. The more you think about it, the scarier it gets, the angrier you get, and he can't afford either of those things right now. Still, Kim's line of questioning gives him an avenue and he can't resist going down it.]

That's the stupid part, you know? You can't catch it by just shaking hands, or breathing in each other's face or even getting nast-

[There's a brief moment of consideration, looking over the older man and thinking,]

Even... y'know. [He makes a quick, informative gesture with his hands. The jury is out on if that's any more polite than what he was saying to start with.]

The only way it spreads from person to person is if it fully eats you up. Then you become one of the crystals and spread it. Doesn't count if someone kills you first, though. That was Ursus' strategy, flush out all the Infected, then cut 'em down before they can cause problems. The places that just stuck them in the slums manage to look nice by comparison.

[Despite the tonal whiplash between dancing around mentioning sex and discussing a nation executing it's people, Ethan's tone stays remarkably steady. That was just how things had been.]

[ Kim lets out a quiet snort. ]

Don't censor yourself on my behalf. Believe me, I have heard far worse descriptions of getting STIs than getting nasty.

[ Of his flaws - and he has a great many of them - Kim has never ranked prudishness among them. The moment of levity in their conversation is welcome in comparison to what they're speaking of now anyway; what this kid is describing is nothing short of horrifying. Even worse is the bland tone in which he's speaking of it.

That tone's not unfamiliar to Kim. Not really. Growing up in a city that was recently an active warzone meant growing up around survivors, whether they were royalists or revolutionaries. People who weren't around for the revolution were the only ones who had the luxury of speaking of it in terms of detached horror. The ones who'd seen it, though, spoke of fallen friends and comrades in very much the same tones as Ethan's using now. It's also not a huge surprise that people would more gladly kill the infected than they would provide for them. If it happened in Revachol - god forbid - people would likely do the same. But it never would happen in Revachol. The idea of a sickness that turns people into crystals is something he would dismiss out of hand if not for the fact that it's the most believable of unbelievable things he's run into today. A horrible thought nonetheless.

No wonder he calls his side the good guys. Kim is not particularly good with emotions, but even he can't hear about something like that without expressing his condolences. ] I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't need an outsider to tell you how inhumane that sounds. And I hope your organization is successful in finding a cure.

[ He takes another drag of his cigarette and stares at the alley wall in front of them. From their position, they could be in any city in the world, in this kid's world or in Kim's own. But the moment they leave, they'll be confronted with their new reality. There won't be any hunting for a cure here. ]

You must be eager to get back.

[ Then again, is there anyone who isn't? ]

[There's a small chuckle at Kim's reassurance. He liked to avoid trouble where he could and one of the things he'd picked up quickly was that some people were picky about that sort of thing. So, he'd just say whatever he felt like, and only adjust it if corrected. That was a lot easier than watching his tongue.]

[The condolences get a brief moment of surprise and something like sheepishness. Since it was normal for him, there was the part of him that wants to respond- it's not like I was saying it for pity or anything- but at the same time he knows it's not necessarily pity the other man's conveying. I'm sure you don't need an outsider to tell you how inhumane that sounds, more like, if even an outsider can immediately tell how inhumane it sounds, why was it normal?]

[That was the bubble. He got to live at Rhodes Island and work for them. He got to be totally open about being Infected. He got to be treated with some kind of respect and work towards something better for people like him. Then you step outside the bubble and see someone you can't save and a wave of fresh helplessness and indignation rolls over you. It was painful but it was part of the package of being one of the ones still alive.]

[The world he's described doesn't exactly sound like a place you want to run back to. Still,]

Yeah. Yeah, I gotta play nice and be a hard worker, then that contract payment will be my trip back. It seems pretty unbelievable but what else are we supposed to do about it? I don't think we get any sorta legal status if they're screwing us over.

Yes, that's right. The contract.

[ The mere mention of it is enough to give Kim pause. If he had simply been offered a free ride home, it would feel as though it was within reach. They brought him here, so why couldn't they send him back? But what they promised was ridiculous. Impossible. A wish he cannot even call a wish; if someone held him at gunpoint and asked him for his most sincere desire, he wouldn't have stated it. He's been trying not to think about it.

He sighs, then nods. ]

I don't put much stock in it myself, [ he admits. ] There's nothing binding them to it, and we don't even know if it's possible. But you're right. We don't have any choice but to play along, at least until we've got our bearings. We need to know more about how this place works.

[ Speaking of which... ]

Which clan were you assigned to?

[Ethan's own small aspirations kept his contract wish manageable. Still, even just a return to home was as dubious as anything else. There was no time listed on the contract which was as good as signing his life away. Everyone in town talked a big game about how getting kicked out would be certain death but,]

[there were a lot of things people said you couldn't survive when you could.]

Hehe, at least "information" should be easier for me than other people.

[he shrugs his shoulders and adjusts his hands in his pockets.]

I'll be heading to where the Sutoku Alliance has its people. Apparently those Tengu are good at getting their noses in secrets. Of course, they're probably not going to let me in on anything that gets around that contract. They wouldn't be big shots if they made a mistake that simple.

But if I find anything, uncle, I can pass it on.

[There was something to be said for being careful about keeping alliances. To Ethan, though, he had more in common with a fellow Lost Soul than anyone natively in his clan. They had the shared goal of actually cashing out that contract.]

[ Uncle? Kim raises a brow at that, but otherwise doesn't comment; he supposes it's a cultural thing. He's heard that other cultures tend to call elders uncle and auntie, and... well, after fifteen years of juvie, he supposes it beats what the young ones usually call him. Besides, this kid seems like a well-behaved enough sort. He moves on. ]

Oh? That's a happy coincidence. I've been assigned to Sutoku as well -- though I've yet to hear much about what that entails, Tengu or otherwise.

[ Finally having smoked his cigarette down to the nub, he lifts one leg to put it out on the sole of his boot. The situation still isn't great, but he feels that he's regained some of his equilibrium now that a soothing amount of nicotine has entered his system. ]

Would you like to come with me to report for duty?

[ You'll watch my back, I'll watch yours, he means. They may have just met, but he already feels more allegiance to this kid than he does his ostensible bosses; they're just two people swept into something bigger than themselves, with no reason not to look out for each other. It might be a good start. ]

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February 2022 Test Drive

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