jigokufever | 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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Please. Let me be the judge of that for now - adrenaline's bound to make you feel more invincible than you are.

[she has her hands open for the moment - no weapons, nothing to harm. he'll be more than all right, if he lets himself be looked at for a moment. sure, the man had fought off his foes, and surely they'd be smarting, but he's the one that stayed, and therefore the one that caught her eye for needing help.]

Perhaps it all simply looks worse than it is, but still, I can't just ignore it, passing by.

...Okay. [he concedes quietly.

He certainly looks like he's coming down from an adrenaline high, his breaths only just slowing, his pulse evening out. As the fight-or-flight ebbs out of him and the tension in his body eases, he finally allows the woman to properly look over him.

He's a bit reticent as she examines his wounds. A split lip. Scratches along his arm, from hitting the pavement below, that steadily bleed; a bruise on his cheek. Kamui doesn't flinch at being touched, but there's a bit of anxiety in his expression, especially as she goes over his face. He's not used to being touched, after all.]

You... said you were a physician?

Yes. Currently without an office to call home, but still practicing.

[her touches are light, gentle, and evaluating enough, she reaches into her satchel to get out first aid equipment. just basic supplies, but they'll do to ward off infection and boost healing.]

I'm Emily Dyer. What's your name?

[it'll keep him a little distracted as she starts to wipe away the blood.]

I'd be surprised if you had a practice here... We did all just arrive.

[The conversation works. He's a little shy about it, but it's enough to focus on while she takes the time to patch him up.]

Kamui Uehara. [Kamui touches the bruise on his face gingerly; it's below his silver eye, because of course it is.] You can call me Kamui, if you like.

[Getting his blood on her probably does away with some of the formality. Or he'd think it would, anyway.]

In that case, just call me Emily.

[there's no magic cure for bruises, but there are ointments that can reduce some of the pain. her touch is gentle, only pressing as much as is needed. it should help some at least in however he has to move his face, and she's glad that most of it looks worse than it is.]

I don't have any painkilling medication with me, but if you can find some, look for things that will reduce the swelling - ibuprofen is a better bet. Also, ice on your bruises when you can, though don't leave it for longer than ten minutes at a time. Nothing here won't heal well as long as you take a bit of care with it.

I'll remember all that, I promise.

[It gets a slight smile out of him, finally. That no-nonsense attitude is reassuring-- far more than if she'd been genuinely coddling him.]

You're very kind to do this, Emily. [Almost too kind.] You aren't concerned anyone will take advantage of you letting your guard down this way?

And how would they do that? I'm just providing a bit of extra help that they don't have to search for - as long as I stay alert of my surroundings and the attitude of my patients, there's nothing to fret over.

[letting down her guard. a peculiar way to put it, when her list of names she's inevitably going to call on is getting longer.]

Let's just say I've dispensed care in less hospitable environments than this.

Stealing your supplies or money for themselves, perhaps. People don't need much motivation to do terrible things.

[Kamui says all of this matter-of-factly; he's not passing judgment on it, simply stating facts. As he continues, he pushes aside his bangs to give her access to some of the superficial wounds on his face.]

Then again, you didn't need much to motivate you to help, either. Unless you had something in mind for repayment.

If you're insistent on me keeping a tally, then you're signing yourself up to owe me some sort of favor in the future. Does that sound acceptable?

[because she wasn't going to say it, or enforce it, until the time came. until she could use it as a subtle chip to bargain with for the future. one has to be practical about this.]

[That, at least, makes a touch more sense than acting out of the goodness of her heart alone. Kamui nods.]

Fair is fair, Emily. That sounds fine to me.

[Even better: she sounds reliable enough to know what she's doing, risking herself to gather up goodwill in this way. He wasn't that concerned for her, but now, he isn't at all. It's admirable.]

How inhospitable were your last assignments, exactly?

It varied, but the idea of dispensing aid to those that required it can't falter even in the face of opposition. Whether the weather is fair, storming, or one has to stay on guard to dodge in the midst of it.

[if she's careful, she can lead him down the road she once led others down of being a combat medic instead of the more complicated reality. his face, now clear of blood and dirt, she can leave alone now.]

Now I see.

[So she’s some sort of war medic, then? It’s starting to add up even more, even if she does seem to be a bit evasive on the details.]

If it’s your profession, it’s your duty to care for the wounded, no matter who they are. Is that right?

[It’s noble— and very unlike his experience of doctors and nurses. Much as he has tried to push it away, there are still distant memories in the nooks and crannies of his mind of being coldly scrutinized, just another child in an endless line of children being measured and analyzed in the same way.

Enough of the past. Kamui mutters his thanks, carefully touching the gauze she’s placed on some of the worst of the damage.]

I could be facing war by the time I return home. I only wish I could meet more people there with your mindset, Emily.

I'm terribly sorry. It's not an experience I'd wish anyone to live through.

[her voice is softer, more careful on that. everything she ever heard and read about conflict, it broke something in people, or left its own invisible marks. some men became addicted to it, others cringed at sudden loud noises. so much death to face down.]

Thank you. I pray for your peace, as well.

[Kamui had been irrevocably impacted by violence long before the prospect of war had become his reality. Whatever the next point might have in store for him, he's got to be ready: if it's anything like what he's dealt with in his dozens of loops, the scale of it could be unfathomable.

He nods solemnly. There could be war here, too. To trust could be fatal, but without allies, he'll never be able to protect the world he calls his own.]

I'll remember what I owe you. I hope to meet you again-- hopefully under safer circumstances.

Edited 2022-03-05 23:41 (UTC)

February 2022 Test Drive

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knowing oocly it'll be FU makes this very funny