jigokulogs | [closed] california's a garden of eden

[Kamui's heard rumors of threats too, albeit in the vaguest terms. Ordinarily, he would be just as concerned. As it is, he's chosen to take what feels like an especially drastic step for himself-- he's put it out of his mind for a little while. It's a foreign feeling, to be carefree. A good one, even.]

You were watching that? Thank you. Harry and I actually trained a bit together last month, since we both had to learn the rules. I've never wrestled before, but I had fun.

[Even when he got tossed out of the ring. Sort of.]

Did you? That was kind of you. I did think he performed surprisngly well for someone who had no idea what sumo even was.

[ It's good to hear that Harry has made acquaintances willing to help him, willing to train with him -- but it's not much of a surprise, is it? He's always been good at making friends, and seems to seek them out as cheerfully as he does enemies in whatever room he finds himself in. It's Kim who has always had problems making connections, but that's of no consequence; Kim thinks that he's much better at being alone than Harry ever was.

Still, Kamui's a sensible sort. A good ally to have, he thinks, and hopefully one that will help mitigate some of Harry's more... fanciful inclinations. ]

I have to say I wasn't expecting wrestling to be one of our assignments in Hell, but... better you than me. [ He means it. Sincerely. ] Maybe the two of you should keep up the training.

[ It would be good for the both of them, he thinks. Good for morale. ]

Edited (THANK YOU!!) 2022-04-08 05:26 (UTC)

Oh, not at all. I was glad to have someone join me, really. [Particularly someone both taller and broader than him: knowing how to handle a larger opponent's bulk had wound up being the key to Kamui figuring out sumo, period. No better guy to practice on than the second biggest guy in the clan, right? He ducks his head, expression humble.] I'm sure I would have embarrassed myself if I'd gone in without any practice at all.

[Though he doesn't know it, Kamui's feeling the same about Kim and Harry. It must be good to be partners to someone so level. Especially, well... when you're Harry.]

You know, that's not a bad idea. [Particularly seeing as he was out of his depth in a firefight last month, hustling to find a weapon...] The hand-to-hand practice can't hurt any.

[and oh boy, he's going to say this with total sincerity:] Would you like to join us?

Mm...

[ Kim's first instinct is to say no. He's kept up his work-out routine over the years, but that's mostly been a healthy use of the Precinct treadmill, or running outside when Revachol's weather was particularly nice and he wanted to get some fresh air. But he tries not to neglect other areas of fitness, and he is trained in hand-to-hand; you have to be, for the job, and he's had to use it more than he would like. His style of fighting is less brute force, more quick, nasty movements and prodigious use of chokeholds than anything else, but it's true that it's been many years since he's actually trained for it.

Now that he's here, in a place where he may well get in a fight in the near future, it's probably wise to brush up some of those skills. ]

...maybe, [ he concedes. ] It might be a good idea to brush up my skills, all things considered. I'm a little rusty.

[ Which is to say, he's going to train well before he ever steps into a mock fight with Kamui or Harry. He has his pride. He's the sort of man who, if he ever enjoyed such economic bounty to be able to hire professional cleaners, would clean his apartment from top to bottom before allowing someone else to touch it. ]

Did you receive much training from your Precinct?

You're welcome anytime. I'm sure Harry would like that, too.

[He certainly speaks highly enough of Kim!!

His official training, however, is another question entirely. Kamui replies, handily:] Enough for the job, yes.

[His hand-to-hand training for his role on the Heinous Crimes Unit had been sufficient enough; however, he can't help but think that every one of his colleagues had gotten their real experience outside of the office. He doesn't want to think that the 25th HCU was full of troublemakers, but, well... it was absolutely full of troublemakers. Hot-heads, the lot of them. He'd learned, through several turns of the timeline, exactly what it meant to be pit against people willing to fight for their survival to the very skin of their teeth.

Darkly, Kamui considers this: he's died so many times, he's gotten quite good at not dying, with or without a weapon.]

But it's always good to learn, particularly while we're here. People in Jigoku-cho do seem to... really like their battles. [A lot. Oh my God. Shuten clan.] More than what one might normally expect from typical street brawls. I don't pick up on bloodthirst like that often.

[Dramatic word choice, maybe. But when he tries to think of the last real fight he enjoyed... he thinks of Travis Touchdown, having the time of his life with his very life on the line.]

It does seem cultural here, doesn't it? They certainly seem to wear it as a badge of pride. And honour, too, especially those from the Shuten clan. [ The way their superior had spoken alerted Kim of that much. His insistence on his men entering the sumo ring and winning speaks to a larger workplace culture that Kim doesn't care for. Especially when that workplace culture trickles down to the very streets themselves. It seems nearly impossible to police as well; he hasn't gotten a good handle on the law here, but it seems that even to the police, fighting is acceptable, even actively condoned.

Kim has largely managed to stay out of it, though his tendency to do so has earned him many a scoff and condescending glare. It's not that he can't fight, he thinks, though he wouldn't call himself a hand-to-hand specialist. It's that he prefers not to without a good reason, and he doesn't feel he has a good reason when not currently employed as an officer of the law. Maybe Kamui has a point; he should really brush up on his skills so he's prepared for when it's necessary. ]

It's just fighting for the sake of fighting. [ What a pain in the ass. ] I did hear from a mutual acquaintance that you got caught up in one of those fairly early on. I didn't think it was my place to pry further from her, but -- what was that all about?

[DRYLY:] Oh, they're very big on honor and pride, all right.

[To the point that he almost hadn't wrestled, so as not to infringe upon that honor and pride and make a fool of the Toraguma. But hey, a bit of stubbornness had prevailed, in the end. For which he's grateful. Much as Kamui, too, prefers not to fight without a very good reason, it'd been pretty gratifying, actually.

The mention of a 'mutual acquaintance', however, is a surprise. A woman who'd known about him fighting can only be--]

Ah... you've met Emily. She's really nice, isn't she?

[He looks, well. Slightly contrite about all this. Kim's tone isn't scolding, but somehow, something in the man's nature makes him feel like he's being scolded, anyway. He averts his eyes as he continues.]

It's nothing too exciting. I was new in town, I walked through the wrong neighborhood, and I looked like an easy target.

[He looks back at Kim, expression level again.]

Unluckily for those men, I'm not one.

She seems like a kind young lady, yes. [ Kim nods. She does. Not that he could get a handle on her one way or the other -- more to the point, she was polite, and it's hard to get to know someone in that way. Kim ought to know. He does the exact same thing. He listens to the rest of Kamui's story with some sympathy, though, wincing at his recollection of events. ]

Ah, one of those. Yes, the same thing happened to me the day of my arrival. It comes of looking too obviously new, I think -- people knew that we would be easy pickings in our cluelessness. It's how I realized Harry was here too, in fact. [ Wryly: ] I did have things under control, but he interrupted the whole affair by just bodyslamming the man. It's no wonder he took to sumo so well.

[ Kim wishes he could stop a conflict by bodyslamming into it. He's not a small man by any means, but he's slim, lithe; he would be prone to simply bounce off. ]

How many of them were there? Your assailants?

[ It's curiosity. Both as to the circumstances that Kamui found himself in, but also to get a gauge as to how good he really is at fighting. Kim has fought in enough one-on-one scenarios to know that fighting is quite unlike the movies; even going up against a single foe is a tiring, difficult affair. More than one means that Kamui has been underselling his capabilities by quite a bit. ]

[He offers a little chuckle at that. Yeah, that definitely sounds like Harry.]

I'm glad he helped you out.

[Though Kamui doesn't have much of a complex around his smaller size-- like Kim, he doesn't have very much bulk to throw around-- the fact of the matter is that it's inconvenient, especially in rougher situations, to look like more of a sitting duck than he really is. Just because he can handle a fight doesn't mean he wants one all the time after all.]

It was three men. [is his answer, put simply enough.] Either unaffiliated oni trying to push their luck, or Shuten oni who were sizing me up intentionally. [Which has, of course, also been happening near-constantly throughout his tenure as a man of Shuten: day after day, they're testing the second-smallest guy in the clan, it seems.]

Adrenaline helps.

[As does the non-police experience, which he is definitely underselling.]

To an extent, yet.

[ As mild-mannered as Kim habitually is, it's obvious that he's sizing Kamui up. Not in a bad way - Kamui has firmly established himself as an ally, and Kim honestly doesn't think he would go up against him without a damn good reason - but he's sizing him up nonetheless. He's not much to look at. But you don't have to be, to be good at what you do.

And clearly, Kamui's good at what he does. To successfully fight against three men would be an incredible feat, even for a professional boxer. Training prepares you for just that: training. It's nothing compared to an actual fight, with no preparation or rules. To successfully fight against three oni? Kim had seen enough of them around, these great hulking, horned things, all hard muscle and horrible grins.

Kamui's had experience. ]

Adrenaline just as soon inspires people to fight battles they have no chance of winning. I'm glad that wasn't the case. [ He's not sure if he should say anything. But even if he doesn't, Kamui already knows what he's thinking. ] You've done more field work than the title of detective would suggest, haven't you?

[He'd know it, even if Kamui weren't trained in the skill of observation: the feel of those appraising eyes on him is all too familiar. He's piqued Kim's curiosity. With that flag now raised-- with Kamui no longer just any fledgling detective on the force-- he'll have to eventually cross the bridge of properly answering whatever questions might come his way.

And although none of it's a secret here-- no other Observers or agents of the Heinous Crimes Unit about to know, or care-- everything about him still feels like a tremendously tall tale to tell. So maybe, he can start small.]

I was only assigned to the 25th Ward [he replies, folding his hands in his robes,] because I was undercover for the 24th.

[He doesn't say the words with pride, or humility. They are the simple facts of his old assignment, related in their most bare-bones terms. On stage, the fireworks seem to be finally ready to go. There's a few joyful whoops in the crowd, an excited murmur of anticipation for the show.]

There were certain figures making... extremely dangerous movements. It was my responsibility to find and stop them before things spun out of control. Unfortunately, they found me first.

[He breathes, slowly, in and out. He remembers his first death-- the cold barrel of Mokutaro Shiroyabu's gun against his forehead, but the colder laughter of Kosuke Kurumizawa in his old colleague's throat.]

I've had to become very good at staying alive.

I've done my fair share of undercover work. Typically not as a homicide detective but despite the fact that I'm of a higher rank now, doing detective work is much, much easier.

[ He hates doing undercover work. He's not even convinced that he's much good at it, but he must be, because he got assigned to it again and again. They had used the excuse that he looked young at first, then the excuse that he was slim and Seolite and therefore easier to overlook. In any case, it was difficult, dangerous work. Even moreso because he generally did it alone. He'd gotten into his fair share of thorny situations too.

It's where most of the black marks on his record came from, deaths that weigh heavy on his conscience, but less heavy than Kim suspects they ought to. Still, he came away from the experience without the ability to take on three oni single-handed, so there are bits and pieces of the story that he's missing.

He crosses his arms, thinking. ]

But even I never went undercover to investigate my fellow cops. [ The idea is ghastly. Awful though they are, they're his brothers. The only family Kim's ever known, really. He would do it without complaint if assigned, particularly if the offenses they were accused of were dire enough, but he would hate every moment of it. Kamui's story still doesn't make total sense (he would only need to be able to stay alive in the instance of staying caught, surely; after that, the cavalry should have been sent in) but Kim's aware he's receiving an extremely truncated version of events. There's plenty of questions he could ask. In the end, he asks what he feels is the most pertinent one: ] Were you successful?

[It's hard to get much of anything past Kim. The man is a detective, too: the more that Kamui says, the more likely it is he'll end up telling on himself in the small gaps he leaves. As if his only options are to say nothing or to prepare himself to eventually say everything, whether he wants to or not.

On stage, the very first firework is lit. It crackles to life, springing into the air and bursting in the sky in a shimmer of emerald green sparks. The time it takes for the noise to clear gives Kamui just enough time to carefully weigh his words before he responds. After all these weeks of saying there was no possible way he could be dead and in hell, he knows how unusual this admission will sound.]

Yes and no. I helped flush out that rogue administrator.

[He turns to Kim, looking grave.]

But his influence also gave my partner cause to find and kill me.

[ The fact that Kim is inexpressive is both a point of pride and a point of contention for him. People in the past - people that he should have been more comfortable around - have accused him of being cold, frigid, unfeeling, able to have even the most difficult of conversations without particularly changing inflection or expression. But considering his occupation and considering his place in the world, it has been a worthy shield as well.

It takes a hell of a lot to get him to balk. As it turns out, a young man he had previously believed to be alive, and who he quite likes despite himself, plainly informing him that he's dead fits the bill. ]

What?

[ There is a break in his composure, momentarily crestfallen. Then it smooths over to an expression like stone, the only giveaway being his brows, bunched up in confusion (and yes, distress). ]

What are you talking about? When we first met, you said -- [ There was no way that he could be dead. ] Was that a lie?

[ God, but he's so young. ]

[That small ripple in the stillness of Kim’s composure does it. He’d anticipated the confusion, maybe even frustration at the logical runaround, but Kim— seems concerned? Upset? Genuinely so. Kamui swallows the lump in his throat: his gaze actually falters for a second before he pulls his eyes back to meet Kim’s once more.

He never once considered that Kim could care.]

It wasn’t a lie.

[In the interest of information, for the sake of answering the vital question of why and how they are here, Kamui has to be up front. The very strange story will only get stranger, and if anyone should get to hear the truth of it, it’s Kim.]

It’s exactly why I know I can’t be dead: because waking up here felt nothing like the first time I came back.

[And there it is.]

I know it sounds impossible, but I’m telling the truth.

[ Kim doesn't quite look Kamui in the eye for a moment, brow furrowed and jaw clenched as he tries to consider what's being laid in front of him. He has two choices: to believe Kamui and hear out his story, or to not, to reject what's in front of him and quash any chances he may have at hearing him out. ]

After what I've seen here, anything is possible.

[ For someone who grips so tightly onto reality as he knows it, who is frightened by the potential of the unknown, it has been a distressing thing to grapple with. He doesn't feel he'll ever truly grapple with it in the way that he should. Worse yet, it's damaged his critical thinking; when there are no fundamental truths to hold onto, how will he ever know when someone is lying? He's spent years dismissing the idea of listening to his gut, too worried that his own propensity for fearing the worse will marr his judgment, too reliant on facts and figures so that he can point to something concrete if someone questions him on why he thinks a certain way.

But here, all he's got is his gut. And his gut is telling him that however improbable, Kamui is telling him the truth. ]

Okay. Fine. I'll believe you. [ For now. ] But... how?

[ What did it feel like, coming back?

No. He doesn't want to know. ]

Thanks, Kim.

[Normal as these circumstances are to him, he's perfectly aware of how outrageous it sounds to an outsider. It's a relief, to be heard: to be believed. Modestly, as if he's a kid coming clean to some mischief, he continues, pausing only for the next bursts of fireworks in the air.]

It's hard to explain. [The mechanics of it is something even he doesn't fully comprehend, so Kamui opts for the easiest analogy. No need to explain the specifics of time travel to Kim, especially not when he's sort of just being taken for a ride himself. (Maybe one day Akama and Aoyama-- his guides and fellow travelers-- will actually explain this stuff for him, but for now? This is the best he can give.)]

Have you ever read a choose your own adventure book? The story changes based on the choices you make, but you can flip right back to the page that presented you with a fork in the road, pick another path, and read the story over again. There's... one moment I can change, right before I'm killed. I've gone back many times now. Sometimes I survive, but when I don't, I go right back to the beginning.

[He fiddles with the end of his robe, glancing over for Kim's reaction.]

So, I can't be dead. I'd have returned there, and then, if I were.

Time travel, to a certain point -- yes, I'm familiar with the concept. I've read books with a similar premise, though not with any expectation that it was possible in real life. Something about folding M-dimensions...

[ He trails off, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. If he had such abilities, he would likely use them to spare him some embarrassment when he speaks without thinking; his taste in literature is neither flattering nor useful at the moment, not when Kamui is sharing something deeply personal. Still, it's practically the only way that he can rationalize it as Kamui stands here, looking him in the eye, telling him with blinding earnestness that he has experienced death after death after death.

If he stops to think about it for too long, it becomes horrific. Surely he would prefer just dying for good at this point? Kim certainly would. If Kamui is telling the truth, then how could he withstand such a thing without going mad? The man standing in front of him is quite cogent, quite sane. Kim doesn't think that even he would be able to keep it together. He removes a handkerchief from his pocket - neatly embroidered in the corners - and removes his glasses to polish them, throwing Kamui's face into a mess of blurry shapes. It's a cowardly thing, but it's easier than looking at Kamui's face, as open as the day he had met him, and to consider his life further. ]

That explains half of it. But how is this possible? Is it only you who can do this?

It's a little like that, yes. I wouldn't have imagined it was possible either... at least, not until it was really happening to me.

[If Kamui cares about the science fiction, he certainly doesn't show it. Right now, it's helpful to have the point of comparison over anything else. Sometimes, it's still utterly unbelievable to him-- that same standoff, the same guns in his face over and over-- if not for how vividly he remembers the feeling of each death and the weightless feeling in his body of returning, he too might think he'd gone insane.]

No. There are others. We're called Observers: those who exist outside the boundaries of normal reality. I know of only two others who can jump through time like I can, and one who... might be capable of far more.

[There's a nervous chatter in the crowd as one firework bursts in the sky, cracking loud and clear like a gunshot. A little too loud; maybe they'd set off two by mistake. Kamui frowns, using the break in the conversation to mull over what else he can explain-- but how does one explain Kosuke Kurumizawa, a being who's transcended his physical body and the rules of time and space completely?]

I wish I could describe this all more clearly. But even I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all. Kim, you--

[BANG.]

[Everything happens all at once. The manholes burst; the thick steam billows out from underground in murky clouds of milky white; the ground rumbles with the impact, sending Kamui stumbling directly into Kim and grabbing onto him for purchase; all around them the festival lights melt into one diffused mess of indistinguishable color and light, in which hundreds of souls scream and cry and run in a rapidly-flowing mass of bodies and panic.]

Kim--

[No, no, no. Is it time already? Is this where he loops again? Kamui can't see Kim's face inches in front of him, but in the midst of the sensory overload all he knows is that Kim's still alive, still standing, and if he tries Kamui can keep it that way.]

A-- an explosion-- we have to move!

[ Later, when Kim's surrounded by enough quiet for him to actually think, he'll kick be kicking himself; he was so engrossed by his conversation with Kamui that he hadn't stayed on his guard as he had told himself he would, and had missed the ruckus entirely until it was already thrust upon them. One moment he was considering the reality of Kamui wielding powers he scarcely understood himself, unheard of even in his own world, and the next, the world itself seemed to erupt. ]

Shit! Kamui, we --

[ It's too late. The panic is too great, and it knocks him right on his ass, nearly trampled by the sheer magnitude of the crowd around them, throngs of people running both towards and away from the danger, the sound of gunfire deafeningly loud, steam rising up from the sewers clouding what little vision they still had. For a moment, it takes all of Kim's concentration not to get his neck broken by the heavy, thoughtless footsteps of the ayakishi around them, and the next? Kamui is gone.

Then, there's too much happening for them to find each other again, not until this whole horrible mess has calmed. All he can do is trust that if Kamui were truly telling him the reality of his life, then he has enough practice staying alive to do it for one more day. ]

[closed] california's a garden of eden

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