un: kyouken

[justbeingknife]

Option A:
Uh.
Don't panic: possible livestock emergency.

One of the locals told me she left a hen on my porch. Guess what? Porch, no chicken.
So, you know.

If seen, do not engage. Report all chicken- and chicken-related activity.

[ ooc: Network/action, feel free to sight this chicken around town if you like! ]



Option B:
I heard some of you booze hounds were sniffin' around, so lemme save ya the trouble. My name's Majima, and I run the bar. The rules are don't be an asshole.

Here's a map. There's pool and darts. Got some smokes, too, but you better give me a real good reason why I should part with those.

Comments

[justbeingknife]

Yeah. Gonna have to make a pen to keep her in. For now, she's in the garage. Thinks it's nighttime.

[ Oh well, maybe that construction team detail would come in handy, after all.

He rinsed a glass clean, popped open a beer with an expert twist, and tilted the glass to pour down the side -- building up a head of pale amber foam before sliding the drink over the counter to her. ]

[rockypath]

Glad to hear it. [She takes the beer and after taking a sip, lets out a groan that's nearly obscene. It's been too long since she's had a good beer.] Fuck, that's good.

Opening this bar has to be like the best idea anyone in this shit hole has had.

[justbeingknife]

Yer tellin' me. Tension around here's so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

[ Probably not even a very sharp one. ]

You from the States?

[rockypath]

Shit, yeah. More people should just start getting shit faced and playing pool. Good way to unwind. [She nods over her beer taking a long sip.] Yup. South Boston. Massachusetts.

What about you, where are you from?

[justbeingknife]

Tokyo, Japan. Spent the last couple years in Osaka, though.

Boston... if I recall, they got a rivalry with New York, right? Some longstandin' baseball feud?

[ It wasn't as though Majima knew all that much about the U.S., but some things did make it across the pond... and America's greatest pastime was one of those things Japan had taken and run with. ]

[rockypath]

Sweet. I always kind of wanted to go to Japan. But I wasn't ever exactly rolling in cash to afford a trip like that. [Or any trips that couldn't be done by hitch-hiking.]

'Some longstanding baseball feud?' Excuse you. Try the only sports feud that matters. Fuck the Yankees. So Sox. [She hasn't even watched baseball in years, but she's still got her Boston pride.]

[justbeingknife]

Just like the Giants and the Tigers.

[ He might have explained himself a little more, but from context Majima figured it would be clear he was talking baseball teams who were bitter-ass rivals. ]

Can't help ya with the cash part, least not out here. But if ya ever do end up goin', it's a total blast. Just don't go to a host club for the food.

[rockypath]

[Faith rolls her eyes, playfully.] Pff, Giants and Tigers. Get out of here with that noise.

I'll keep that in mind, if we ever get out of this shithole. [She quirks a brow.] Host club? What's that?

[justbeingknife]

The opposite of a hostess club. Ya stop in for drinks and conversation if you want the boyfriend experience, but without actually havin' to take anyone home.

There's a markup on food and alcohol, though, so if yer wallet's strapped, you're best off saving your yen. Plenty of cheaper food stands and restaurants around, and they actually specialize in lunch and dinner.

[ Not that he had anything against either kind of club -- it was just that foreigners tended to get a little confused about them. ]

[rockypath]

[Faith is just staring at him a bit wide eyed now. This is all news to her. Host clubs. Hostess clubs. She'd no idea there were even places like that that existed. It's like opening up an entire new world to her. A whole world that she's no idea what to do with now.] I'll keep that in mind. Although I like to think I don't need to pay anyone for companionship... [Not that she wanted a 'boyfriend experience' she'd always been more keen to skip to the good bits and then leave before things had to go and get complicated.] What about like... cat cafes and shit, isn't that a thing? Wouldn't mind that too much. Provided the cats weren't dicks.

[justbeingknife]

Cat cafes? Yeah, heard about those, but they came a little after where I'm from.

Like to meet whoever thought the first one up, 'cause that's a business owner who knows their target market. 'pparently, it don't even stop at cats. They got owl and capybara cafes, too.

[ Man, what would they think of next... ]

You an animal fan?

[rockypath]

I like 'em sure. Not hardcore or anything. But my mom would never let me have a cat or a dog, so I think I'd like something like that. A place to go to just pet animals and then not have to be responsible to pick up their shit. [She snorts over her glass.] Which honestly is probably a bonus where those Host bars are concerned too.

[justbeingknife]

Makes sense to me. It's a little touristy, but if ya want to see some animals, there's always the Ueno Zoo. Oldest zoo in Japan: zebras, cranes, penguins, the works.

Plus, every year they have somethin' called the escaped animal drill. Bunch of zoo staff reenact what'd happen if an animal escaped, with nets and everything. Read that they had a big papier-mâché rhinoceros one time. Kids love it.

[rockypath]

[She snorts, finishing off what's left of her beer and signaling for another.] I'll be honest were I going to take part in something like that, I've have to be drunk out of my mind. Then it would probably be fun.

What kind of things did you do for a good time? Or just like, a normal everyday time? I think I'd like to get the actual feel of real life in Japan were I going to go, you know?

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima obliged, sliding a second glass across the table and taking the first out of her way. The question got a slight raise of one eyebrow. What he did for fun, huh? ]

I lived in Kamurocho, so it's a little rough around the edges. But if I had the day off to do stupid shit, guess I'd tool around at a couple places.

If ya like games, there's an arcade called Sega Hi-Tech Land on Nakamichi Street where they got a bunch of machines and prizes. Personally, I used to go down to the Yoshida Batting Center or Mach Bowl, smoke some turkeys. Got a theater, music stores, buncha pachinko places if yer into that.

For food, depend on what ya want. Kanrai's pretty good for Korean barbeque. Sometimes ya spot celebrities there, sometimes not... but they got galbi, salted tongue, the works. If you wanna drink and do a little gambling, Vincent's your bar. There's a couple down in the Champion district, but it's a hole and the residents ain't always friendly.

Far as hotels go, Kamurocho's basically a red-light district, but let's see... how 'bout Kamuro Hot Springs? It's Japanese-style accommodations, which you're not gonna see anywhere else.

[rockypath]

Pachinko is like a gambling thing right? [Hey, look at that she knows something!] Might give it a shot just to see what it's like.

Probably gonna pass on the salted tongue though. [The disgusted look on her face tells all. Gross.] So yeah think I'd just stick to the bars and gambling.

That Hot Springs thing that sounds choice. Sounds relaxing. Don't get to do a lot of relaxing. Always running around trying to keep the world from ending. [It's nice to talk about a potential vacation, even if she's sure she's never going to get to take it. Either because there's no way out of here or she's never going to have the time when she gets back home.]

[justbeingknife]

Yeah, it's gambling. Never really got into it myself, though.

[ He let out a brief sigh. One of the things he missed most around here? Anything that even slightly resembled a decent hot bath. ]

It's real relaxin'. That goes double if ya got the world on yer shoulders. Only thing is... you ain't got any ink on ya, right?

They don't let people with tattoos into the baths.

[rockypath]

Well, shit. [Damn. She rolls up her sleeve on her right arm to show him the tribal tattoo there mid-bicep. Look, she'd been a teenager when she'd gotten it, so don't judge!] What's wrong with having tattoos? Seems like a pretty random rule. Don't want any ruffians dirtying up their pool?

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima took a look at it, then waved a hand. ]

That's fine. Just cover it up with a big band-aid or some shit, no one'll know.

It's 'cause tattoos are connected with the yakuza... even if ya ain't one. Some places make exceptions for people outta the country, though. Guess they figure it's popular enough with Americans, ain't really mean the same thing.

[rockypath]

Yeah, I'm a lot of things but I don't think anyone would think I was Yakuza. Nah, I got this because I was a teenager rebelling against my foster family, and I was badass yo. [She laughs a bit. Fath's an ex-con okay, current fugitive though. So, she isn't exactly without her faults.]

[justbeingknife]

[ He smiled a little. Gooooing to skate around the subject of organized crime for now... ]

Another product of the foster system, huh? Seems like a pretty common story around here. Got any brothers or sisters?

[rockypath]

Yeah. Guess this place likes to suck in people with some kind of sob story? I'm an only child. [She's got 'sister Slayers' but they aren't related by blood.]

What about you?

[justbeingknife]

Got a younger brother, by one year. We ain't blood relations, though.

[ He reached into his pocket, removed a cigarette. A brief flick of his lighter, and then Majima was taking a drag. It was a practiced motion, much rehearsed over the years. ]

He ain't here. Sure you'd all know if he was.

[rockypath]

[If he's going to smoke then Faith's going to pull out a cigarette of her own and light up and join him.] Yeah? He a trouble maker? Should I steer clear if he does show up?

[justbeingknife]

[ That almost got a laugh out of him -- only this month, there'd be less of that going around. ]

Nah. He just sticks out in a crowd, that's all. Bigger and taller'n I am.

[ Which was fairly impressive for a dude from the 80's, since Majima was already 6'1" and change. But Saejima Taiga was built like a bear, and sometimes had about the same disposition. Maybe more likely than not, these days. ]

Name's Saejima. Not like I'm expectin' to see him around here, that is.