(catch-all)

[janescayre]

WHO: Fukawa & "Friends"
WHERE: Mirth, probably Stygia and Serene too.
WHEN: Nov/December
WHAT: Quest logs, perhaps other random goings on that don't need to clog event logs.
WARNINGS: CW: talk of child murder, perverted/erotica talk, threats of murder/suicide, Danganronpa spoilers. Updated as needed!

Comments

MIRTH QUEST - Sakura 😳

[janescayre]

[There are many opportunities to make money in this hell hole, but Fukawa has her limits. For example: she'd rather hop into a wood chipper than pose naked. Only Byakuya-sama could possibly request such a salacious favour from her, and he isn't here. Though perhaps if Felix or His Highness Callisto...

Nevermind! Her thoughts will always return to her true love and joy! Whenever Byakuya-sama nobly passes into this realm from a heroic demise, Fukawa will welcome him with open arms. They'll share a tender lover's embrace, and all that ails their restless spirits will slip away, and they will share an eternal ecstasy and peace like no other soul has ever known!!!

...

Anyway, her other options include investigating suspicious bones and death smells, or dressing as a clown. Ergo, she turns up at Esmeralda's door ready to charge some crystals.]

It s-seems cheap to pay ten coins per crystal wh-when you have to split it two ways. [Fukawa grumbles. She scoops up the first, turning it over in hand and sending furtive glances to her partner: the local medic and town darling, Haruno Sakura. Not her first choice but definitely the safest one: she doesn't think she'd gossip about it or complain about her cold, clammy hands. And after her stint in the Gallows Fukawa needs a sabbatical from handsome men. No use riling up Syo and getting thrown back into jail.]

Do you think we can do more than one at a time?

[craters]

（ look, her refusal to accept payment for her medical treatments means sometimes a gal's a little hard up for spending money. she would, in a spectacularly selfish fashion, like some new clothing... something a little less ragged than the poor tunic that's starting to fray at one hem.

she's fixed it, but fixes like that only last so long. ）

If it's all the same to you, I think I'd rather keep one hand free...

（ that's murmured in a soft undertone. fukawa is likely to understand why that is — sakura is a fighter, and she would just as soon not have to do it with both hands effectively tied if anything weird happens to come up. ）

[janescayre]

Augh. Fine. [It's more sensible, she can concede that. They don't want to be caught unprepared. But also it means they're going to have to waste more time trying to turn a profit. Surely splitting ten coins puts them below a minimum wage.] If we b-both had massive meat-hands we could at least fit more than one in there.

[Sucks to be genteel, ladies.

She extends her hand to Sakura, gem balanced in her pale palm.]

Well?

[craters]

At least it's a pretty colour, right?

（ she's not half so grudging about it. she takes fukawa's hand delicately, pressing their palms together. the sharp facets of the gem bite into her hand a little, but it's less painful than slightly uncomfortable. she threads their fingers together and tugs fukawa in a little, playfully bumping their shoulders together. ）

And we get to keep one, too. Given how cold it's getting... I think that's probably a good thing, right?

（ cold really isn't a problem for most ninja... she's not an expert with fire chakra, but she could use it in a pinch. ）

[janescayre]

D-don't make me trip!

[What is this? Some kind of jock bonding ritual?

She comes nowhere close to tripping of course, and she feels more flustered than aggravated. At least it's relatively normal for girls to hold hands. No one will suspect a thing if they're spotted. And if Sakura agreed, she can't be too embarrassed about being seen with Fukawa anyway.

That doesn't mean there's zero margin for disaster, but it's a better bet than most would have.]

You keep it. Y-you're the one freezing to death on the d-docks every day doing operations or whatever. [Fukawa shakes her head.] Once it gets cold I'm not g-going to go outside unless someone drags my corpse out by the hair.

[Also, she's still frightened of being caught again. That strange, scarred man's advice still rattles loud in her head. The apartment is nice, but hardly secure. She'd be safer inside her door in the Shadowlands.]

[craters]

（ sakura is absolutely the jock here. unavoidable, really. ）

I don't really mind the cold all that much. I'm usually fine with just a few extra layers. But I was actually thinking about Shalem... he's, ah... a snake person? And I know snakes have some difficulty with the winter months.

（ she could ask sasuke, local snake expert, but things between them are a bit... tense at the moment, and she's not quite sure that's a topic she wants to broach. ）

I don't think anyone's going to be dragging you anywhere by your hair, though. Hopefully.

（ unless she's?? into that?? ）

[janescayre]

[Hate to say it but she is definitely into that. Depends who's doing the pulling, though.]

Snake guy? [Cue deer in headlights impression, at least until a dim recollection bubbles to the surface.] Oh, was that the one p-posting to the network about needing to "cuddle"?

[She'd refused to respond. Frankly it sounded like he'd been asking for something more than body heat. Men were like that, always playing innocent until they had you alone and in arm's reach.

Though if he really was a snake person, then, um...]

To th-think this is the reality we live in now. Snake people. [She shakes her head and scoffs. Adjusts her grip around the stone, through the lace of Sakura's fingers. She can't tell if anything's happening yet, but her own frigid fingers are soaking up plenty warmth from the other girl already. Don't mind her if she squeezes a little tighter. It's chilly outside, shut up.]

Don't be so s-sure. They might come looking for the escapees any d-day now.

December Notice Board (Mirth)

[philandery]

[ esmeralda must be in dire straits, the way she immediately leaps to her feet to welcome toko as soon as the girl steps foot in the shop. (sylvain had arrived at least half an hour earlier, spent time chatting up the woman while waiting for a second person to show up.)

oh, miss! your timing couldn't be better. esmeralda explains, with great enthusiasm, how she desperate needs help with the business, what with the cold coming in, and her shop needing repairs... how it'll just take a moment and then she and "this nice young man" can be on their way...

sylvain watches from in the meantime, smile polite but clearly strained as he regards toko. he's not enough of an ass to ditch esmeralda after promising to help, and receiving her hospitality for the past 30-or-so minutes, but clearly he's tempted to.

eventually, toko is ushered (if not coerced) to the same seating area where he's waiting, a few small crystals placed into her hand. sylvain's already been doled out some of his own, too, so it's DOUBLE handholding hours. ]

...Hey.

[ not a particularly inspired greeting, but he doubts either of them feel particularly inspired by this unfortunate meeting. ]

Hey handsum

[janescayre]

[It is most certainly coercion. Fukawa freezes like a deer in headlights the second she spots that rosy head of hair, but it's too late. She's Esmeralda's last hope and her tongue is tied, her head short-circuiting. An easy mark for a woman in need. Fukawa is dragged over to the table and abandoned, left alone to face the man her alter had mauled.

She doesn't take a seat. Her shaking hands knot together in a fretful clench at her heart.]

...

[What does she even say? He's furious. He can barely hold in his loathing, just look at him.]

......

[He'd rather sit across from a rabid bear than deal with her. He probably wishes she were dead. Might be thinking of ways to do it right now.]

......Aren't you g-going to run?

hi qt ;^J

[philandery]

[ ...it's strange, seeing her up close for more than 5 seconds this time. she really is different enough from her alter that, while the memory of syo might make him internally cringe, toko's presence itself doesn't really carry the same effect.

(they really are two different people, sharing the same body.)

he can't help being curious, an astounding lack of self-preservation diluting his dread. and, he hasn't noticed her around lately (lol he doesn't know she was arrested)—figures if she really wanted to cause him trouble, she definitely would've by now. they're neighbors, after all. ]

Nah, don't think so. I've got some questions for you better asked in person.

[ never know when her device might get 'filched' again. ]

i really had to squint to figure out what that face was, am i getting old???

[janescayre]

[There's a sharp intake of breath, a cringe back. Her teeth are gritted and her eyes are pinned on him.]

I...I-I supp-p-pose...

[There's a cringe that cinches her whole body. Fukawa swallows and finds her mouth arid as Saharan sand. A wobbling hand taps onto the chair opposite and she forces herself into the seat. She looks like she's sitting atop a handful of thumbtacks, and her hands pull ceaselessly at an overlong lock of hair.]

Th-there's n-n-not usually...a chance for q-questions...

[philandery]

...Because of Syo? [ dead men tell no tales, etc. ] Is that why?

[ while there isn't any threat to his tone, it's still a bit of a brusque approach. he figures it's not really something to be tiptoed around, anyway. he lays his hands palms up on the table, crystals collected into his right hand, and nods for her to offer hers as well. ]

...Has it always been like this?

[ not the question he wants to ask right now, but he figures it might be easier to get answers out of her if this is framed more as a conversation than an interrogation. ]

CW: child murder

[janescayre]

[The name gives her a ripple of revulsion. So she'd even introduced herself? That's either better for Fukawa, as it splits the blame, or far worse. The name ties her to any other crimes Syo sees fit to put her personal stamp on. Or heaven forbid, if one of her past victims shows up.]

Wh-what do you think? [The answer is obvious. Her eyes flick to that beckoning hand and she swallows a fistful of intangible rocks. Is he serious?

Esmeralda could be back any minute. This is the only quest on the noticeboard at the moment that sounds remotely bearable, and she can't lose a chance to make what little money she can. That woman may ban her from returning if she refuses to comply now.] You — you b-better not break my fingers...

[That trembling hand settles atop his with the lightest of pressures. It's almost animalistic, a wild creature skirting around an offered treat. She's ready to yank it back at a moment's notice, her mouth set in a grim line and her eyes wide as dinner plates.]

Not always. B-but...since I was sm-small... [If there were warning signs she's lost them to time. The first kill blotted out everything and shot her nerves, and all she knows of Syo is what came after.] I was about t-ten, I think. She...

[Hoo boy. Even her lip is twitching now.]

The first boy I liked rejected me. Th-then he moved away. And I w-woke up in...in this sch-school I'd never been to.

[Fuck, is she crying now?

The cold tile still presses against her skin now and again. She feels that smooth ceramic now. The sticky splatter that coated it.]

She'd p-p-pinned him to the wall...

[philandery]

[ break her fingers? does he really come off as a bad guy? (maybe she's onto something, his shadow chimes back.)

contrary to her expectations however, he barely curls his fingers against her hands—only enough to provide the contact that the crystals need in order to activate. even so, some sort of trigger has been pulled, a truth set into motion that's more terrible than he could've imagined.

she was ten.

he listens quietly, studying the structure of her thin hands. maybe best not look at her face when she's crying. girls don't usually like being scrutinized when they are. ]

...So you don't remember anything she does. Or at least, you're not aware of it.

[ was that what syo was planning to do to sylvain...? to anyone else toko has eyes for? ]

Do you have any way of controlling her?

[ maybe it's cruel to press these questions when the girl's clearly revisiting a traumatic experience, but sylvain is not always nice. not where his friends are potentially involved. ]

EIVOR - more handholding!!!!

[janescayre]

[As the most reliable and dignified of the quests currently posted, Esmeralda's shop finds itself once again welcoming the spindly figure of Fukawa. In spite of the fright she'd gotten last time she's shown up solo yet again. No one had been free to come hold her hand, and so she must hurl herself at the mercy of whatever stranger comes around. As long as it's not anyone else Syo's tried to stab...

She waits with a hot cup of tea and a pile of gems at the ready, watching the door close. At last the bell rings, a shadow fills the frame. A large one.]

Huh? You again? [It's that amazon woman. The one that could give Oogami a run for her money. Fukawa frowns.] Wh-what is this, the third time you've shown up when I try take a quest? Are f-following me?

[ulfrkysst]

[Eivor never imagined that raiding would not be a reliable source of income, for if she had, she would have perhaps spent more time learning to sew and less time learning how to break people's faces. As it is, with only one of this moon's quests being suited to her skillset, she is having to expand her repertoire.

Not desperate enough to dress up like a fool, she's here to... hold some gemstones...]

I can leave if you wish. [She makes a point of looking around the otherwise empty shop.] I see you have many partners to choose from.

[janescayre]

[She's immediately stricken with a scandalized look.]

I d-didn't mean it like that!

[Though it probably sounded that way. Whatever, she knows what she meant, she's done nothing wrong. Fukawa quails in her seat, shoulders hunching in and gaze averting to the wall.]

Well, I g-guess it is the most sensible quest right now. As if anyone would agree to p-pose nude.

[Just imagine. Actually — well, depending on who volunteered, Fukawa wouldn't be opposed to an art class? But modelling herself, definitely not. Out of the question.]

Whatever. If you w-want to — I'm not g-going anywhere. So.

[The seat's open, should she want to take it.]

[ulfrkysst]

You have only yet to find a patron. Once you have secured one, you will no longer need bother with earning coin inchmeal.

[She slips into the empty seat, loosening her cloak and settling in. She doesn't really know what to expect from warming gems, but it'll probably take awhile. Might as well get comfortable.

Eyebrows raised, she holds her hand out, palm up.]

But for now, we must make do.

[janescayre]

[A patron?

Oh, if only things were still so simple. Fukawa sighs. Where was her literary agent anyway? Certainly the whole company was dead. It's beyond her why she was the only person here who hailed from her world, if this really were the final resting place. She still has reservations about that whole premise.]

Right.

[Fukawa nods and takes Eivor's hand. The crystal between them isn't sharp, though it presses its points as she tightens the grip. The process worked better if you weren't ginger about it.

Though it does only exacerbate the gulf of differences between them. You'd need two or three of her to make up one of Eivor, and her hands are only calloused around the knuckles (thanks to Syo), while Eivor sports a working woman's palms. She's fallen out of the deepest past, further back than most people here. The way her hair is chopped and braided, the dark smudges of paint across her eyes — all of it impress on Fukawa the limited and lowly life of a modern citizen. How unimpressive they must all look to her.]

Wh-what about you? This isn't your usual line of work. [Obviously.] I g-guess this whole place must seem pretty ridiculous.

(ouran host club themesong playing)

[craters]

（ time eats at her, in those first frantic days without naruto. doctor mccoy takes over the clinic, and she leaves with sasuke. they search, and search, and search, and find nothing out there in the wasteland. messages go unanswered. there's no sign of his chakra, as unrelenting as brightest day, and sakura... she can't remember the last time she didn't have him to turn to, to rely on, to talk with.

their relationship hasn't always been good, but it's always been there. even in those years he was off training with jiraiya, and she with tsunade, it was present.

and now it's gone, suddenly and abruptly severed, and she's holed up in her small apartment, feet tucked under herself, buried in a blanket as she reads. sasuke, she's sure, is still out there looking, but she's trying another tactic. seeing if there's a history in this place, of where people might go, how they might be affected. the idea that naruto has lost himself, become a spectre, is something unconscionable. not him. he's too strong-willed.

at least that's what she's been telling herself all this time.

she's not really expecting anyone at her door — only a handful of people even know where she lives, and it doesn't occur to her that anyone might notice or imagine she hasn't been very actively around the last little while, so when the knock comes she frowns faintly, sets aside her book on missing and lost souls amongst stygia, and comes to the door.

she looks... mostly normal. it's clear she's been bathing, even if her overlarge shirt hangs lank off one shoulder it's (mostly) clean. she seems to have dropped a few pounds and the dark shadows beneath her eyes speak to a sort of sleeplessness that's hard to shake. but when she opens the door and sees fukawa standing there, she sort of blinks, and steps back, making space in case the other girl would prefer to come inside. ）

Hi.

my future wedding theme

[janescayre]

[It's extremely annoying to be dragged out here like this.

And as far as Fukawa is concerned, she has been dragged. Sakura was supposed to be the social butterfly. Sakura was supposed to be everywhere all at once, ever present and available and maddeningly in the way no matter where she turned. It should have been easy to find her, whether she went looking or not.

Then the clinic reduced its hours and there wasn't word on the network. Typically she'd pick that rosy crop of hair out of any crowd, but every head she saw ranged from blond to black with little electric deviation between. Before she knew it, it had been ages since she'd seen the girl, and so lost the chance to call any meeting a tragic coincidence.

Imagine, having to scrounge for gift snacks and track down her home address. There had better be good reason for this.]

...You l-look like crap.

[Sorry. But it's true. It also makes her worry. What doesn't read in her words speaks plain in the furrow of her brow, the way she slips inside like she's intruding on sacred ground. Something must have happened. Something serious.]

Wh-what's with you? Have you been sick? [She sets the tin of treats on the nearest surface and unwinds her scarf, pries off her boots.] N-no one's seen you around at all.

[craters]

No, I'm not sick.

（ she isn't quite sure what to make of this, evident in the faint list of uncertainty to her posture as fukawa sets down a tin, and begins taking off her boots. ）

I've just been busy with a personal matter. （ her brow furrows faintly, and then: ） Has something happened?

（ the idea of another incident, like the jail or the harvest festival, makes a clench of anxiety stir in the pit of her stomach. it's really the last thing she wants to be dealing with right now. finding naruto still comes first. ）

[janescayre]

L-like what? [Boundaries, what are those? She shucks her coat next, then turns around a little helplessly. Where should she put it?]

No, n-nothing's happening. Well. [She sighs and rolls her eyes.] Th-that disgusting mistletoe is everywhere, you can't walk ten steps without getting cursed. But, no, I just. Um.

[She glances to Sakura. Then glances away.]

You c-can't disappear for no reason, you know! It's inconsiderate.

[craters]

（ more tiredly than with any real brusqueness — ）

It's not something I want to discuss.

（ her voice hitches just a tiny bit on the word discuss, even as she's reaching for fukawa's coat. boundaries are something she's had to get good at for her own sake.

the bit about mistletoe cursing people has her raising an eyebrow, though. mistletoe... a hemiparasitic plant, capable of producing a viscotoxin extracted from its leaves and stems, fatal in high enough doses. almost as a form of self-soothing, her mind breaks down the components of an antidote while she hangs up the coat neatly in her small closet. ）

I'm sorry if I worried you. I had Doctor McCoy cover the clinic for me, I thought that would be enough for a few days.

（ people being personally worried about her? weird. ）

[janescayre]

[Fukawa's nose wrinkles, even as the other girl takes her coat and blithely accepts her invasion. More secrets? Oh, this was just so unfair. It's not as if —

Okay actually she was keeping a lot from her too. But still, it's frustrating to see the drain on her and not get one clue about it. She looks skinner than usual. Maybe there was some boy trouble? Or secret assassin stress.

This is terrible. She hates this. Komaru was a great friend because Komaru was simple. Just so, so stupid. Couldn't keep a thought in her head if she covered it in cement. Sakura, on the other hand, is tricky. This is going to be challenge.]

I wasn't t-trying to see him. [Hasn't even introduced herself. Took one look inside, saw some old guy, and left.] I didn't need medical help, I just.

[She shoots her a look. Don't make her say it. Please.]

C-can't you eat something? I brought all this crap just for you.