text; un: tengennohana

[ryototsukai]

i'm already 1m yen in debt?!

i just started in debt to Tenko-hime?!

i mean i did spend a ton of money on food and drinks and lovely women and cute boys and stuff but

somehow i thought it would all work out?

how am i supposed to handle this?!?!

Comments

[ryototsukai]

hm i think i get it.

i haven't gotten my first paycheck yet, but the way my boss talked about it, i probably won't be making much, since bouncers don't get a commission.

[lonelinessloop]

So it sounds like you'll need to budget for your debt. And you have to be careful if you try to get a loan. A lot of the people who provide loans for people in your situation can make trouble for you.

[ryototsukai]

oh don't worry about that, i know all about loan sharks. i'm way safer being in debt to Tenko-hime than i would be to someone who isn't invested in me doing work for them.

[lonelinessloop]

I'm not glad you know about loan sharks, but I'm glad you know to avoid them.

[ryototsukai]

i dunno how well you know your history books, but the economy wasn't. great. back when tokugawa first got in power, so loan sharks have definitely been around a long time.

my dad disowned me, so being a young woman with nowhere to go, they tried to target me. thankfully, i had my swords to earn my way.

[lonelinessloop]

[ Well, she certainly knows how that feels. Not like her own father hadn't both disowned her and then tried to kill her and her mother or anything.]

I'm glad you had them. I'm sure they'll help you here.

I'm hoping my own skills will be just as useful.

[ryototsukai]

i'm sure you'll find your way! this town certainly seems to have room for all sorts, right?

i'm musashi, by the way! miyamoto musashi!

[ She says, so casually, as if that name wouldn't be loaded to most people from a 'normal' Earth. ]

[lonelinessloop]

[ Yeah, that's... definitely a loaded name right there. But the Musashi in her history books is a man. So she's going to assume that, well, maybe someone named their daughter a certain way. That makes more sense, right? ]

Sawamura Haruka. It's nice to meet you.

I hope so!

[ryototsukai]

say, that name looks familiar. you're on the Tamamo Clan roster too, right?

[ She'd mostly tried to find a roster list to find any familiar names. But it was good to get to know your fellow workers, right? ]

[lonelinessloop]

Yes! I haven't really met anyone else yet from the clan, but I wanted to get to know people, maybe even see if I could find a roommate or two.

Oh! That's another thing that can help with costs: living with other people. It's cheaper for rent, and making food for multiple people comes out to less money in the long run as long as everyone can agree on what to have.

[ryototsukai]

i'm so used to being on my own, i'm not sure if i'd make a good roommate to anyone. habits you form in isolation and all that

[lonelinessloop]

Most of being a good roommate is communicating. If you can do that, I bet you'd be okay.

[ryototsukai]

that's true!

man, you really come off as a responsible, level headed person. in a strange world like this, that's a pretty invaluably cool head you've got, Haruka-chan! i'm kinda envious, lmao!

[lonelinessloop]

You're very kind.

It's easy to get discouraged or feel overwhelmed when everything is new. But I'm sure you'll do great too, Musashi-chan!

[ryototsukai]

true, but this isn't really a first time thing for me, either.

the "another world" part not the "being neck deep in debt" part.

[lonelinessloop]

This isn't my first time in a city like this. But its both of our first times in *this* city.

[ryototsukai]

this isn't your first time in hell?!

[ Should she really be surprised, even if that wasn't a weird conclusion to jump to? Considering all the places Musashi had been to... ]

[lonelinessloop]

Oh no! That wasn't what I meant.

The city just reminds me of another place I've been a few times.

[ryototsukai]

whew! that makes way more sense than a girl like you winding up in hell, i guess.

but i'm guessing you mean modern red light districts or something?

[lonelinessloop]

Yes, that's what I meant.

So far, the 'hell' part doesn't seem that bad.

[ryototsukai]

that's true. this doesn't really mach the version of "hell" i was told about as a kid. no counting of your sins, no tongue pulling; to be honest it mostly seems like the Enma is concerned with just keeping the place running smoothly.

[lonelinessloop]

I hope it doesn't turn out to be like that!

I'll admit: we didn't really talk about hell much when I was growing up.

[ryototsukai]

pretty much the only thing that stuck with me from my father were a) sword lessons and b) Buddhist lecturing.

of course i also went on that whole "eightfold path" thing that a lot of wandering swordsman did, so there's that, too!

[ Not that her attempts to be more Buddha-like seemed very... noticeable, given she's already in debt from indulging too much. ]

[lonelinessloop]

[ She... doesn't want to talk about her father. It's a bit of a sore spot right at the moment. He's why she's here, after all. ]

I had no idea that had anything to do with swordsmanship. It sounds interesting, though.

Did you finish?

[ryototsukai]

my journey?

nope!

to be honest, i'm not really sure what the end goal is supposed to look like. i've seen my sword reach emptiness...

... i guess all that's left is to see what's beyond the void.

[ Talk like that... this might be the real deal Musashi. ]