[ OOC ]
None of this information can be taken IC unless learned about through in-character means.
None of this information can be taken IC unless learned about through in-character means.
Saturday, 16th of March.
Dark, empty, dirty. The sewers. Deep hidden within them, ‘FORTUNE’ opened a set of wooden doors in a locked-off area, and entered a room resembling much of a living room. A big wooden sign was nailed above the doors he walked through, reading the text ‘THE HIDEOUT.’
“Thanks for meeting me so soon TARASQUE.”
A masked figure sat behind a table in a tall chair, the only chair with a high-rise back support. Staring through their ballistic mask, ‘TARASQUE’ sat improperly; uninterested.
“It’s whatever. What did you need?”
“Well …”
‘FORTUNE’ stepped up, granting himself a seat at the table on one of the smaller chairs, opposite of ‘TARASQUE’. He rested his hands on the table as he leaned forward, for once ignoring his folded tie.
“... I wanted to talk to you about the job … You’ve been a great boss and shit but like … man sometimes I’m walking around and this fucking shit is so god damn filthy, like how am I supp-”
“If you’re here to complain about how dirty the sewers are you can leave already, jesus.”
‘TARASQUE’ cut him off, raising themselves up in their chair with a more irritated tone in their voice.
“... Okay. When I applied for this job, I said I wanted to feel more alive, as opposed to my old desk job which I made so much money at … It was boring you know! Jail showed me that.”
‘FORTUNE’ spoke with a slight sense of nervousness in his tone. A shiver, if you listened close enough.
“But, what I’ve figured out, through experience is that … this is maybe a bit … too much for me.”
“Too much? Is it too much for your fancy suit and tie?”
‘TARASQUE’ snapped back, standing up rapidly from their seat as they loomed over Tsujii.
“Well … uhm … yes … It’s just too much man. Like I don’t wanna fucking die! I’m young! Young and wealthy!!”
“Oh please, you’re almost as old as ‘RORSCHACH’.”
“Okay, boss, cut it out, man. I’m just being straight up with you!!”
‘FORTUNE’ raised himself from his chair now as well, meeting ‘TARASQUE’ at eye level as they both stood opposite of each other at the table. It kind of felt intrusive to him, standing in the Black Market Hideout whilst figuring out how to resign from your job.
“You want to quit, yes?”
“... Yes.”
‘FORTUNE’ Spoke out, hesitantly taking his time with replying, but giving a confident tone in his answer.
“Then stop wasting my time and get out, Tsujii.”
Thursday, 20th of March.
A laptop was folded open, instantly meeting the set of eyes looking at them with an instant flash of light, as the laptop started up. Behind the laptop, someone named ‘PRISONER’ typed in the password to it, unlocking it as multiple tabs shot open that hadn't been closed the night before. The clock read a specific time: 2:00 am, on the dot. Was it a coincidence, or pure luck?
Whatever it was, it was neglected. Opening up on the laptop was ‘PRISONERS’ e-mail, in his inbox sat a variety of messages, not many though, only 256 e-mails in total. One of them however was marked unread. The e-mail was titled ‘ETHER invite.’
Opening the e-mail, were two simple words. As ‘PRISONER’ read them, he knew what they meant. No time was wasted he opened up a separate tab and typed in a specific URL link: ikigai.net/black-market
Asked to insert a password, ‘PRISONER’ did so correctly. Then after that one chat was unlocked for him to view after he had signed up and enabled his VPN. The chat was private between now two individuals. Someone named ‘TARASQUE’ and ‘PRISONER’ himself.
‘PRISONER’ > “Does this mean what I think it does?”
‘TARASQUE’ > “Yes. Have you been able to set a date of arrival?”
‘PRISONER’ > “Yes… 27th of March is when my plane is scheduled.”
‘TARASQUE’ > “ok cool. Text here when you’re in the city. Not the town.”
‘PRISONER’ > “Karakura?”
‘TARASQUE’ > “Yeah, not that small town…I don’t even know its name.”
‘PRISONER’ > “Okay, will do. Then what will happen?”
‘TARASQUE’ > “I’ll send you some GPS coordinates, you come along, and we’ll have a chat.”
‘TARASQUE’ > “Don’t worry, I don’t bite. For now.”
‘PRISONER’ switched tabs, slowly closing his laptop as he stared ahead of him. A new chapter awaited him. Another step in his ultimate journey. The time read 2:22 AM. Another lucky accident? Who knew? All the ‘PRISONER’ knew was that it was normally time to get some rest in. Or at least attempt to.
Suddenly he sat straight up in his bed. He looked to his left. The clock on the wall reads 2:50 AM. He didn’t fall asleep, he just zoned out. Lost within his realm of never-ending thoughts. He stood up from his bed and walked into the kitchen, reaching up to the cupboard as he grabbed a small cup, and pressed the ‘START’ button on his coffee machine.
Turning around as he shifted his attention to the window, he looked outside and saw one star flickering a little brighter than usual. Was it trying to tell him something? He stared at it, consumed by it as his thoughts yelled out to him. Completely ignoring the hot cup of coffee waiting for him to drink. Not to keep him awake, but to keep him energized. He had no trouble staying awake.
He walked up closer to the window, the shelf beneath it conveniently had a notebook placed on it with a black ink pen. It seemed like he had written in it the night before, in the exact same place. He looked down at the notebook, before looking back up at the star for just one moment. He picked up the cold metallic pen and placed it in his fingers as he held down the curved paper for him to write on.
“A star of the universe. It is as common as a grain of sand, yet we idealize the concept of being a star in this world as being truly unique and special. When will I become the star in this world, without becoming the grain of sand in the universe.” - Iwai Mitake.
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