[ OPEN ] scaring at the sky

[aceslow]

Who⬤ Kim & YOU
What ⬤ Kim takes on shifts at the local 7-11, fields an attempted robbery at aforementioned 7-11, visits a gay bar, finds a skeleton woman's bones (substory 2), contemplates haunted dolls (substory 4), and goes about his daily life.
When ⬤ Throughout May (and probably into June as a catch-all!)
Where ⬤ Throughout Jigokucho
Content Warnings ⬤ None anticipated; will edit as needed



a. 7-11 shifts.

i. a normal day in hell.

[ A lifelong policeman, Kim had quickly come to realize both that his skills as a detective aren’t exactly transferable here, and that the paltry salary that their clan leaders have given them is not enough to live off of. The only solution to that is to get a job and, much to Kim’s chagrin, the most convenient place to pick up a paycheck happened to be one of Jigokucho’s many convenience stores. A temporary position, Kim had told himself, but a position nonetheless.

Which is why Kim finds himself here, perched behind the counter of a 7-11 in some awful polyester uniform, sporadically working day and night shifts alike and feeling bored out of his skull. Is your character here to pick up their daily slushie? Have they been living off of convenience store foods for the past week? Or do they want a chat as they’re picking up lottery tickets and cigarettes? Whatever the case, Kim is here, seeing exactly what everyone’s daily routine looks like.

When he’s not restocking shelves or tidying up or looking terribly bored, he can be found reading a book underneath the counter or scribbling away in that omnipresent blue notebook of his. But feel free to interrupt him – that’s his job, after all. ]

ii. a normal day in hell: robbery edition!

[ Though late one evening, Kim’s stupor is interrupted by a young humanoid yokai slamming down his haul - slushies, saran wrapped pastries, ice cream and candy; somebody’s got a sweet tooth! - and jabbing the stubbiest looking switchblade Kim has ever seen in his direction. ]

This is a robbery! Give me everything in your register, now!

[ If you’re particularly good at reading expressions, Kim looks almost… glad for the excitement? He raises his brows at the young man, reaching underneath the counter. ]

You’re... robbing me? With that?

[ Do you want to intervene in the world’s most pathetic robbery? Or did you see that there could be more dangerous accomplices around the corner? Or maybe you just feel like watching the show? Take your pick! ]

b. the homo-sexual underground (it’s a gay bar).

[ With how busy his job kept him back home it’s not as though Kim had the time or energy to frequent gay bars, but with more time on his hands and a lack of community at his disposal, he’s slowly come to realize precisely what it is that he’s missing: a tether to the homo-sexual underground or, as it may be here, the homo-sexual overground. For how little he’d frequented the bars back home in the past few years, it’s a place that’s always welcomed him and a place he always knew he could go back to. He’d cut his teeth in those dingy, secretive bars even before he had been old enough to drink after all, and he decides it’s about time he gets acquainted with what Jigukocho has to offer.

With that in mind, Kim dons appropriate attire - a black leather jacket, white undershirt, dark wash trousers and some good, solid boots; there’s no point in messing with the classics - and heads to the Tamamo District to scope out the scene. It’s less a matter of asking around, and more of being able to spot his own. Once he sees exactly who is streaming into one of the bars, he slips in himself, looking comfortable and at ease, though in truth, he’s trying to get a lay of the land. He’s only ever been in the gay scene in one city, and to acquaint himself with another’s language seems like quite the task.

He winds up sitting at the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish chatting with another customer to place his order and looking far more approachable than he usually does. He’s in no hurry to get his drink, though – whether you’re here on purpose or stumbled into the gay bar by accident, why not say hello? ]

c. substory 2: vend me a dream.

[ If Kim had known just how long this satellite investigation was going to go, he wouldn’t have signed up for it in the first place, he thinks. But now that he’s invested, he’s come face to face with someone that he would probably feel obligated to help regardless of what comes at the end of this whole jaunt: skeleton clad in a beautiful, intricate dress, pooling on the filthy streets of Jigokucho. If you happen to listen in, you may hear Kim say, perplexed: ] You say they… took your bones, Madam?

My bones! They stole my bones! [ The woman’s jaw crackles and pops as she speaks, the entire effect a rather eerie one, though Kim tries his damnedest to keep a straight face. ] How will I get anywhere without my legs?

And who were these miscreants, exactly?

A dog.

A dog, ma'am?

A dog, a dog!

A dog took both of your legs?

[ The skeleton woman shrugs. Her bones crackle. ] A dog took one of my legs.

I see. [ Kim very carefully does not sigh. The absence of a sigh is somehow even louder than if he had. He turns to anyone nearby - that’s you! - and says, ] Pardon me. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a dog with a bone around here, have you? It would be a very large bone.

d. substory 4: haniwhat?

[ While his aren't as bad as some, Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi is no stranger to nightmares, especially at times of unrest. When he bolts awake in the morning with a shout - perhaps audible to other residents of Sutoku housing - he expects that it's nothing more than an overactive subconscious up until the point he sees an eerie looking doll staring back at him from across the room, perched precariously on the chair he habitually hangs his jacket on. Voice croaky from sleep, he rasps, ] What the fuck?

[ He doesn't do more than get himself looking baseline presentable before taking action, grabbing a pair of tongs from the kitchen to transfer the strange figurine from a chair to an old grocery bag. He carries it out of his apartment and sets it down as gently he can out on the sidewalk, using the tongs again to unwrap it from the bag and peer suspiciously at it, more than a little spooked. Usually he wouldn't want to be seen like this, in a loose tank top and sweatpants, hair mussed instead of being slicked back with a prodigious amount of hair gel and face unshaven, but he feels inclined to get to the bottom of this. Experimentally, he pokes it. ]

If you're alive, [ he tells it sternly, ] You should say so. And you certainly shouldn't be breaking into people's homes.

[ It stares emptily back at him, silent as the grave. Perhaps you've seen one of these too and can enlighten him as to what's going on -- or where to dispose of it. ]

e. daily life.

[ Otherwise, you can find Kim going about his regular business. If you live in Sutoku housing, you may have him for a neighbour and run into him as he takes out the trash, or perhaps figure out his schedule by the fact that he stands out on the communal porch of Sutoku's building for his daily cigarette, breathing chestnut-scented smoke into the light-saturated nighttime of the city of the dead that never sleeps. He's largely a polite, conscientious neighbour, though he sticks to himself and never appears to welcome any visitors.

Otherwise, he can be found doing his weekly grocery shopping, hitting up thrift stores for clothing and household goods, peering into the windows of Sutoku's many arcades (he seems particularly interested in those racing games), eating at one of Jigokucho's many cheap dining establishments, or even studying the advertisement in the window of a gym. Wherever you can reasonably expect someone to visit while going about their day, you can find Kim! ]

f. wildcard!

[ hit me with a wildcard – or if you’d like to plot/would like me to write you a custom starter, I’m more than happy to do so! Comment to me on the cr meme or on plurk and we can work something out! ]

Comments

[aceslow]

[ When Andy shoots him a look, Kim just raises a brow at her in return, as though to say: what of it? He would usually warn her beforehand, but considering her swagger walking in here, he can't help the urge to take her down a notch, just for the hell of it. There's no malevolence in it, though, and if there was, he certainly wouldn't be patching her up. Honestly, it's just funny, and he'll take his laughs where he can find them these days.

One of the places to find laughs happens to be in Andy's story. His lips twist at the corners in amusement as he hums in acknowledgment, dabbing at the dried blood around Andy's wound. ]

That sounds as though it was their own fault for wearing clothing that would keep their testicles on display. That is the sort of thing they say to young women in skirts, after all, [ he says, flat tone disguising amusement to those unaccustomed to reading those who don't bother wearing their emotions on their sleeve. ] I can't say that I disapprove. I have to admit, I was expecting a far less righteous fight.

[ He would have liked to see it. ]

Think they learned their lesson?

[killtime]

[ It's a little unexpected, that subtle shift in his expression — the way the shape of his mouth changes, despite the lack of inflection in his tone. Unexpected, but not altogether unpleasant. ]

Do they ever? [ Dryly, as she gives Kim a little look: ] Probably be back on their bullshit as soon as their balls stop hurting.

[ She holds still for him as he tends to her cut, her cigarette idle in her hand where it rests on the counter. ]

Honestly, I'm half-disappointed you aren't scolding me.

[aceslow]

And I'm disappointed that you think so little of me. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to scold you in the future, but I'm not particularly inclined to criticize you for responding in a fitting fashion to those who attempted to sexually assault you.

[ That is what it is, really. Even if she says it lightly and can take care of herself, if they did it to Andromache, they would do it to other women as well. Kim has his faults, but his moral code at least operates to that extent. It's not as though he hasn't been tempted to get a little too rough every now and then for equal offenses. ]

If you want me to criticize you, I'll criticize you for getting hurt enough to need stitches. That's sloppy work. [ He peers at the cut, divining exactly how she got it. It can't be a good feeling; though he doesn't realize he's doing it, he's used to assessing corpses, not living beings, and there's the general sensation that he's gazing upon her like a lump of flesh. ]

You know your way around a fight, don't you?

[ He has no place to judge on why that's so. It's a hunch. She had been armed - which is fairly unusual in Revachol unless you have reason to bear arms - and is eager to get into physical fights. People generally don't do that unless they've had some practice. What was Andy's? Some form of organized crime, perhaps? He doesn't think that would be too far off. ]

[killtime]

[ Well, damn. She feels properly scolded now — and maybe just a little apologetic. He's right, of course. And it isn't that she thought he'd be the type to reprimand her for what was ultimately self-defense. It's her. How desensitized she's become to all of it. Detached. How it hadn't even registered to her as an attempted assault because, despite being effectively mortal now, some part of her still feels like Andromache of Scythia — the immortal, the warrior. She's walked off every gruesome and terrible injury the mind could imagine. So what's a crude pass from a drunk in a bar?

His reminder — that perspective — is sobering. ]

I can get by. [ She answers his question after a moment or two. They both know she's being coy though. Her unassuming build belies her real strength — a deadly combination of experience and fearlessness. ] It doesn't take as much skill as you'd think just to hit someone.

[ If she minds him inspecting her cut, she doesn't show it. The woman's often thought of her own body not so differently from a corpse, so it doesn't bother her much. ]

If I was that fucking good, I wouldn't be here.

[ Like he said. Sloppy work. Though the honest truth is that her sloppiness isn't from a lack of skill — just her current inability to give a damn. ]

[aceslow]

Oh, it takes some skill all right. I still remember when I threw my first punch. I thought my hand was going to fall off. Though that was quickly replaced by the feeling that my nose was going to fall off, [ Kim says, jovial enough as he begins to remove the needle from its plastic casing. He's been in enough scraps in his time to know that technique goes into it, though that may be clear from his features alone; his prominent nose is certainly crooked in the way that suggests it had been broken more than once. There's another universe in which the catastrophic event of him attempting to fight back had done nothing but cow him. Thankfully, that is not the universe that he lives in, and he had decided to keep fighting back until it worked. Not so that he could win, but so that he'd at least be too much trouble to bother with anymore. ]

If you were rotten, you'd be at the hospital. You didn't come to 7/11 for medical care, after all. This was just a side perk, to go with your coffee and cigarettes. Don't expect this sort of treatment when one of my young colleagues is manning the till. [ Thread laced into the needle, he presses it up against her forehead. ] This is going to sting.

[killtime]

[ She makes a quiet little noise of amusement at his answer. Yeah, first punches hurt. The memories are vague and faded now, but she can still recall some glimpses of learning to fight as a young girl. How hard it was for the soft, pudgy hands of a child to grip the haft of an axe. How the fragile skin of knees and knuckles would so readily succumb to cuts and scrapes. Pain was a novelty, in those early days. She'd been innocent then, even in her violence.

Nostalgia subtly softens her wryness. ]

Alright. Fine. I'm not rotten. I'm incredible. Fucking deadly. World-class. [ Dryly: ] But I'm also fucking careless. So I guess it all evens out, in the end.

[ It occurs to her as an afterthought — this is her first time getting stitches. There had never been any need, before. It'll probably leave a scar there, right across that eyebrow — and that idea makes her feel oddly satisfied. ]

Now that I know you're here, maybe I'll come by just to keep up with my habit of being a nuisance to you.

[aceslow]

See to it that you do. I don't get to see a whole lot of excitement here.

[ That, and it's nice to know that Andromache is still here. After that uncertain first day, Kim had a feeling that she'd be okay if she just kept on trying to make it through to the next day - it is, after all, how most people manage to forge forwards - but it's nice to have the reminder that she's still with them. If she's well enough to come bleed on his nice clean floors, that's good enough for him.

It's oddly satisfying sewing up her wound with neat, tidy stitches. He's always been good at that. There was a time while he was getting medical training when he thought perhaps he could be a good Lazareth -- a lateral move seemed more attainable than a promotion at the time, and there was enough need for them that he would be able to secure that position. But then he realized that people came along with the injuries and changed his mind. For what his bedside manner lacks in gentleness, it makes up for in stability, his presence calm and his movements quick and professional, as though he's done this a million times before. ]

But for the record, I would prefer that you come in minus the injuries. Though this really isn't too bad, as injuries go. Street fights aside, how have you been settling in?

[killtime]

[ He was right — it does sting. But it's not the worst pain she's had by far, and there's something unexpectedly comforting about the ritual of it all. Kim has steady hands, and even without being able to see it, she can feel that the stitches are neat and even. That shit will still leave a scar — a novelty, in and of itself, and one she finds more appealing that she should — but it won't be an ugly one.

That, and if she's being honest... It's nice. To be asked how she is. She wonders when that became foreign to her. ]

Could be worse. [ Her voice is a low and wry. ] All things considered, being in hell isn't all that terrible. I even get a little bored sometimes.

[ She gives Kim a little sidelong look. ]

Should I ask what you're doing working the night shift at a shitty gas station? Not exactly where I would have pictured running into you again.

[aceslow]

Yes, I can't say it's how I imagined it to be either. Not that I believed in it in the first place, but I was underneath the impression that it wouldn't be a healthy metropolis. Not to mention one that's clearly in an economic boom, [ he says, a little sourly. Is that envy? Maybe a little. It just seems unfair that what is supposed to be considered Hell is so clean, so nice. Anyone looking at a picture of Jigoku-cho and a picture of Revachol side-by-side would assume the latter was Hell, pockmarked and grey and destitute.

Regardless, it's nice to see that Andromache is at least what Kim would describe as stable. She has found something of a routine, he's sure, something of a niche. That's good enough. All you need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. It's the only way to keep the sort of despair she had felt from catching up to her. He had done the easy part; the rest is up to her. ]

And I'm working here for the same reason anyone else works here. Money. I wanted more than what I had, which was nothing.

[ He leans back to see better, studying his handiwork. ]

I'm afraid my skillset isn't well-suited to this city. This was the best I could do in a pinch.

[killtime]

[ She's seen plenty of places that were more like hell than this one. The bombed out shells of what was once people's homes. Trenches. Prison camps. This place is a paradise compared to that. There's convenience stores, for fuck's sake. Must be some kind of irony in all that. But right now? She's definitely not complaining. Whatever the reality of their circumstances, some part of her is grateful to have wandered in tonight and found Kim Kitsuragi there, sitting behind the counter. ]

Don't know if skills really matter all that much. [ Dryly: ] I've got plenty. Had a long time to get good at a lot of shit. Haven't done much with it since I got here except get into bar fights.

[ Seeing Kim lean back, apparently finished, she lifts a hand to lightly skim her fingertips over the stitches. Seems like they'll hold. After a moment, with an odd note of something almost rueful in her voice: ]

Think that's gonna leave a mark.

[aceslow]

You didn't have to. As someone who was placed into the Department of Enma, you were given a job as soon as you arrived. I would generally argue that your vocation requires more than physical skills, but I don't know if that's truly the case here. I, on the other hand, need to pursue a new career. And that, you need skills for.

[ Plenty of skills, though? He's only ever seen that Andy has the one. He supposes he'll discover more as he grows to know her more. Unfortunately for Kim, it seems as though fists do an awful lot of the talking around here. Kim's no stranger to fighting and even considers himself a passable fighter - he's weathered more than a few in his day - but when compared to those who have molded their life around their physical prowess, he can admit that he falls short of the mark. ]

I think so, yes, [ he says, nodding a little apologetically at her stitches. ] There's really no way around it. If you went to go see a proper doctor with dissolvable stitches, it would mitigate the damage somewhat, but I doubt the hair would grow back correctly regardless. [ He offers her a wry smile. ] It's kind of a cool look, though.

[ Very popular in the Homo-sexual Underground. ]

[killtime]

[ She should probably be more thankful to be with the Department than she actually is. It's hard to give a shit about any of that. Mostly, she feels resentment. Her arm was fucking twisted. And she's not used to answering to anyone but herself. ]

Don't need a proper doctor. [ A light shrug of her shoulders. ] I've got you.

[ Which is more convenient for her than for him, certainly. But she doesn't mind if it scars. She hasn't been attached to her physical appearance for a long, long time. It's only flesh. The same unchanging flesh that she's had for centuries. Maybe she'll feel differently, now that it can change. Now that it has, even just a little.

She glances over at Kim then, amused to be complimented: ]

Well, as long as you think I look cool. [ Wryly: ] They do say girls like this sort of thing.

[aceslow]

If you come to me with a broken arm, you'll be begging me for a proper doctor. But I can deal with minor scrapes and bruises, yes. [ And bullet wounds and injuries beyond that too, but Andromache doesn't need to know that unless it's strictly necessary. He doesn't want to be the go-to for that sort of thing, after all. Only in emergencies, when nobody more capable is around. If he wanted to become a Lazareth, he would have become a Lazareth, and the idea of accidentally hurting someone worse is a present worry in his mind.

Not for something small like this, though. Andromache clearly doesn't mind a scrape or two. ]

Girls will think the bandage is less sexy, but I'm afraid they find wounds leaking puss least sexy of all, [ he says, slapping a bandage onto it and taping it closed. ] But yes, I'm sure you'll be able to woo your fair share of ladies like that. Not that I think you were struggling in that arena.

[ He could tell Andromache was one of theirs right away. Something about her bearing, perhaps. But she's the sort many women Kim has known have gone wild for: reckless but charming, a little wild, a tendency to really focus in on the person she's talking to as though her world has dwindled down to them. A good lay, but a bad idea. ]

[killtime]

[ Maybe he's right. Truthfully, she's never had a broken arm that lasted long enough for her to know. Maybe that kind of pain and inconvenience will be bad enough that she'll go somewhere besides the local gas station convenience store, but some part of her thinks she'll still be tempted to handle the matter with duct tape and over-the-counter pills. The woman's terribly obtuse like that. ]

You'd be surprised. [ She quips back mildly, her wryness habitual and maybe even a bit amicable now. ] Women tend to be more discerning than men. Usually have to try a little harder to convince them that I'm worth the trouble.

[ The corner of her mouth quirks up ever so slightly. ]

You're a different situation entirely. [ And not just because he seems completely disinterested in her sexually. ] You knew I was more trouble than I'm worth. Makes me wonder if you really felt that sorry for me, or if some part of you sort of likes the trouble.

[aceslow]

Am I, [ he says mildly. Because he's a homo-sexual, he presumes, but though he's not exactly closeted, he doesn't tend to say it out loud. He knows Andy knows, though, not least of all because she's the same -- not the homo bit, but certainly, she makes no secret of liking women. Work now done, he snaps the lid of the first-aid kit closed and fastidiously cleans his own hands, making sure to wipe off any remnants of blood. His employer would not be pleased to find out he was doing first-aid on-shift, but he would be even less pleased to know Kim was selling people goods smeared with blood. ]

I don't like trouble. It just happens to have a way of finding me. And I have a talent for mitigating it. Don't get the two mixed up.

[ Don't be fooled either. He likes trouble. He likes it a lot. And he'll never fess up to it. ]

[killtime]

[ That look on her face says she's not entirely convinced. He doesn't strike her as the kind of man that puts up with more trouble in his personal life than he strictly chooses to. But lacking any evidence besides a gut feeling and her own experience with the man, she seems willing to let him have this one for now. Instead of arguing, she finally lifts her long-idle cigarette back to her lips and takes a drag, exhaling a leisurely mouthful of smoke before she finally answers: ]

Well. This trouble knows where you work now. So I suppose it's a good thing you've got that talent.

[ Something about the shape of her mouth or that gleam in her eye suggests that she likes the idea of coming back a little more than might be convenient for him. ]