jigokucho | (post-mingle) text; un: UEHARA

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Good morning, everyone. I hope you're well.

[read: he hopes that you're not too hungover and that none of you died out there last night.]

Despite the different clans to which we've been assigned, we all find ourselves in strange territory in Jigoku-cho. It may look close to what several of us recognize as Japan, but as you might've already discovered, familiarity does not guarantee similarity. The other day, I met a man who could have easily been from my world, perhaps even my continent or country-- only to discover he hailed from a completely different planet.

So, I'd like to begin gathering information. [He's no Sutoku, but this is important to all of them, and-- as he's been taught-- there are no shortcuts when it comes to investigation.] The more that we know about our fellow lost souls, the more we will have to work from as we learn more about this place and why we're here. We can start with something simple. If you would like, please share where, and when, you are from.

I'll start. I am from Tokyo's 25th Ward, in Japan, on Earth, in the year 2005.

(ooc: feel free to threadjack around! ✌️)

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[ Oh -- a polite young woman like her? He can't help the quiet twinge in his gut as she admits her occupation to him. His experience with military contractors has been less than positive.

More to the point, he had killed, or had a hand in killing, four military contractors just this week. It's stuck with him. He kills infrequently enough that it keeps him up at night. He can only hope that this woman is the sort to do only sanctioned crimes. ]

Yes, I'm familiar with military contractors. Back home, I am a police officer -- a Lieutenant with the RCM, though I wasn't given the same assignment here. [ He pauses. ] When you say you failed your mission, do you mean to say...?

[ It's rude to ask if someone's dead. But she volunteered the information willingly, and they are supposedly in Hell, after all. ]

Ah, right, sorry. Ahah... I know it's not exactly the most reputable work out there, but it was a large industry back on my planet, so...

[LB just lets that part trail off, giving an unseen shrug. Thinking back on it now, she really wasn't all that suited to the work, but she really wasn't in a good state of mind back then.]

I... don't know what the RCM is either, but I assume the R is Revachol, yes? But a lieutenant? You were quite good, then! [She was about to say that it might be a good thing that he was assigned to something different, but LB holds that thought as she wasn't certain if he was as blase about his former occupation as she was.] I bet you have all sorts of interesting stories, don't you?

[Maybe most would bristle upon being asked about a possible death, but LB had far worse skeletons in her closet - in comparison, she really didn't mind talking about that aspect of her life at all.]

If I died? Eheheh? I'm... not actually certain? ~~[It's player-determinant, okay.]~~ I passed out after I lost the fight, you see. But either way... I'm not actually as bothered by the thought of dying, I suppose.

[ Again, her personality seems deeply unsuited for the work, though Kim knows better than to judge someone based on first impressions. But he thinks about the last contractors he'd met, the things they had bragged about --

She is not like them, he thinks. Their masks had been paper-thin. If this is a mask, then it's quite firmly affixed. ]

Yes, if you died. [ His voice takes on an apologetic tone. ] I know that's a forward question, but considering our circumstances... anyway. I hope for your sake that you're not, even if you're at peace with it. I know of someone else who assumed that they had died, but news from someone familiar with them confirmed that that wasn't the case.

[ It was him. He's the someone familiar. But it's not his story to tell. ]

[While LB did have many masks throughout her career, she was at least typically an honest person outside of her disguises. While she still wasn't especially fond of her work, though, she'd still much, much rather talk about that than the past that preceded that portion of her life.]

Oh, heheh... that's kind of you to say. [She thinks, at least. Probably in a normal circumstance, it would be the nice thing to say that one would hope that another wasn't dead.] But in all honesty? I've got no issue at all spending the rest of my time here, if I did indeed die.

[In other words, LB was actually sort of relieved to be dead if that's what decided that she had to stay here instead of have to return back to her world - she had nothing to return to, after all.

Though she's curious about the individual Kim mentions, she has no way of knowing that it was himself he was speaking of. Still, LB takes a warm approach with her response - if it was someone Kim cared enough to mention, that was a good thing, was it not?]

I'm glad to hear that your acquaintance is all right, though! Heehee! If they still had ties to their home world, I'd imagine that would be quite the relief indeed.

[ LB's answer just brings up more questions. But any of those would be getting far too personal with a stranger he had struck up a conversation with solely to discuss linguistic differences of their disparate worlds, like don't you have a home you'd miss? or do you really think you could be happy here? Kim doesn't think he could be, but nobody has ever accused him of being comfortable with change. And he knows, too, that military contractors are not people who are known for their happy childhoods. ]

Yes. It was a great relief. And if that's the case for you, then I hope you can find what you're looking for here. Would you rather stay? I'm sure it appeals to some as a fresh start. I can think of plenty who would be better off here than they were at home.

I suppose it's a little silly to say that I don't mind staying in what's supposed to be hell, isn't it? Heheh?

[And truth be told, LB wondered if she had even been here long enough to know whether or not Jigoku-cho was worse than what it seemed on the surface. But even if it turned out to be a nightmare? LB was still certain she was exactly where she deserved to be.]

For now, I think I'm just glad to get a little relief from all the wars going on.

[Even if it wasn't entirely peaceful here, it was still less chaotic than the war economy that ran rampant on her home planet. Granted, that wasn't the actual full reason for her preference either.]

Ah, but if it's your preference to return, I do hope there's some way for you to return eventually. Ahaha - even if I do imagine it'll be a while.

Thank you. It is my preference to return, yes. I know where I belong.

[ In Revachol, where he was born, where he intends to die. After that, he never considered the afterlife. He thought that he would simply disappear into the Pale, to be forgotten by all but those brave enough to sail through. Hell had been an unhappy surprise. ]

We all have preferences due to our circumstances. I can respect that. It seems... premature to say so, but perhaps there's a peaceful life to be had here.

I don't expect it to be entirely calm here - ahaha - we all have work to do here, after all.

[With the contract she was given, she could only assume that all the other Lost Souls here were similarly expected to put in the work for something they really wanted. At the very least, she's a little glad to expand her skill set in a different direction for at least a little while.]

But it's the best we can hope for in this situation, isn't it?

We can hope for something between peace and active warfare, [ Kim says dryly, though not unsympathetically. ] War is quite beyond me.

[ Or at least... an all-out war. Urban warfare is something he grew up around, as natural as breathing. But war of the likes a contractor is used to? Unthinkable. ]

I hope, for your sake, that it stays beyond you, heheh.

[And that much is genuine. She wished that she didn't ever have to know it at all, even if she supposed the experience and knowledge she gained from being a contractor would likely be a benefit to her not being eaten up completely by Jigoku-cho.]

I don't even know what I'd do with myself if it were completely peaceful here. [Which wasn't for a love of her job, rather that she hadn't known peace for at least the last decade or so of her life.] So yes, I suppose that would be the best outcome.

I think we could hope that for all of our sakes. Even those accustomed to such things tend not to prefer them -- not unless there are more serious issues at play.

[ Like the mercenaries he'd met, who relished in the violence. He chooses not to believe that of anyone unless they make it too present to be ignored. Why believe people to be monsters when he can believe them to be human? ]

If it were peaceful here, all that would be left would be to live. I'd recommend picking up a hobby.

[Though unseen, LB smiles wistfully. Even if a peaceful life was what she really desired, she wasn't certain if she deserved it.]

The sad thing is that it's been so long that I'm not even certain what I even enjoy anymore, heheh...

[Which even though it seemed innocuous enough that LB didn't feel like it was too much to unload on a relative stranger, it did reveal more than she intended to on just how sad her life really was. However, LB does at least realize that perhaps she should try to leave off on a lighter note.]

But, ah. I guess I have plenty of time to figure that much out, hmm?

[ Unseen, Kim only nods. What she says may sound bleak, but it doesn't come as a surprise to him; those who label themselves as war mercenaries rarely have what they would describe as happy lives, and he doubts that it leaves room for much beyond the job. Kim's a cop, not a soldier, and even he has precious little time for his hobbies, though he does have them. ]

Yes. My advice is to make a list -- though I rarely think a list is a bad idea. Somewhere down the line, you'll come across something you enjoy. [ Although... ] Some of the more expensive hobbies will have to wait, however. I think our paychecks are spoken for in acquiring the essentials first.

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