Welcome to Tokyo, Japan. January, 1991. The world has entered the technology era, portable phones, home computers, internet, video games. Japan quickly became the epicenter of the latest and greatest. Companies and factories flourished. Where money was, people followed. And while many rose to live a comfortable, happy, and delightful life from this new found money... Others did not. You see, money has this effect on people that can't be outdone. People will do anything for it. And when it starts slipping into the wrong hands, it's impossible to stop. Benethe the day time laborers and the double-shift workers, a seedy underbelly of syndicates exists. Narctics, black market, organized crime, money laundering, you name it and it's been growing as fast as the upper world economy. While many do it just to stay alive, there's those who make it their posh lifestyle. Either way, there's only one question. What would you do if the money was good enough?
JAN 29 2021: Welcome!! ƎLEMENT has been open for two weeks now and we're so happy to see such a bright beginning! If you're new feel free to drop into the discord and say hi before joining.
[attr="class","campussub"] darling, you're a far-fetched dream.
[attr="class","campustag"] WRITTEN FOR ito masakoto
[attr="class","oppa"]
Nothing should’ve been more suffocating than the feeling of black smog prying down your lungs. Yet, here she was, discovering something new every single day. The pinching of her white kitten heels and the baby pink buttons that held together her mother’s old dress was more of a prison cell than an actual one. It was rare for the antsy young girl to ever leave the safety of her home, but the pleading expressions on her grandparents faces and the promise of only making a brief appearance chipped away at her resolve until she was forced to swallow down her nerves and give in to their request. It was the least she could do- they clothed and fed her for years despite their turbulent relationship with her dearly departed mother. [break][break]
But the second they set foot into the fancy lobby of the looming building, regret clawed into her soul. [break][break]
The first sound that met her ears was amiable chattering and the clink of wine glasses, people dressed from head to toe in elegant clothing. Her grandparents initially described the party to her as a casual one that would begin in the afternoon and end sometime in the early evening. Obviously, neither of those statements were true, and Naoko couldn’t help but feel like a complete dunce for trusting them. They were kind people, but they had the awful habit of attempting to push her into tense situations with good intentions and an unawareness that they were only taking five steps back. Even at this event, the second they left the young lady alone she found herself sitting alone at a table decorated with lively flowers and dainty confectionaries. [break][break]
Her presence went beneath the radar of the bustling politicians and socialites, something she was grateful for, until a middle-aged man in a stuffy suit slid gracefully into the empty chair right next to her. His greeting was returned with a respectful nod, her brown pools trained onto her lap as she silently hoped he would take her brief response as a sign to leave her be. But, of course, he did not. The sound of his chair scraping the ground and a withered hand settling on her shoulder alerted her to the strangers sudden proximity. “You’re the Nishijima girl aren’t you? I heard that you’re still in need of a spouse is that right?” The hand on her shoulder tightened its grip, his question causing her posture to tense as her hands gripped onto her chiffon dress. Reminders to breathe fluttered through her mind, but they were futile as her breath hitched significantly from the unwelcomed contact. [break][break]
Any words died in her throat, her wide chocolate pools never once leaving her lap. Apparently, her lack of a response displeased him as he drew closer, fingers toying with her short brunette tresses whilst he eyed her. “C’mon no need to be shy, I’m trying to show my interest- oi!” Naoko’s body moved on its own accord, hot tears burning at her eyes and her legs trembling as she shot to her feet and sped away from the table. Fortunately for her, the stranger only scoffed and shook his head, too humiliated to give chase to the fleeing little lady. Only a handful of eyes witnessed the scene, none making a move to assist the frightened gal or scold him as if his behavior was normal. [break][break]
Finding a vacant corner in the spacious room where a coat rack would successfully keep her hidden from the world, she squeezed herself into it as the tears began to stream down her cheeks. Years of practice allowed for her sobs to remain quiet and stifled, her arms hugging her figure in an attempt to console the feeling of disgust that coursed through her veins. For a moment she had to wonder if this was how her mother used to feel, repulsed and alone amongst the forced smiles and grueling talks of business. Her head bowed, a veil of brown hair brushing past the nape of her neck, Naoko could only attempt to release the abundance of nerves and negative emotions bottled up inside through her silent tears and trembling body.
There wasn't much worse ways to spend an evening, Koto reckoned, than standing around in that stuffy ballroom surrounded by socialites with too much money and too little sense to know what to do with it. He'd been to what felt like a million of these functions, his father and stepmother tugging him along since he was young, and yet they never seemed to get any easier. His nerves were fringing, not leastwise because of how distracted his mentor, Sudohara, was with all of his socializing, leaving Koto lingering at the bar, nursing a scotch on the rocks and hoping no one would approach him. [break][break] The only positive about these types of events--besides the obvious monetary benefits of meeting new clients and investors--was the ability for Koto to people-watch, his azure gaze flitting around the room as some silent, cynical observer. He recognized quite a few faces from his time back in Osaka, though he was slowly becoming accustomed to the visages of the Tokyo elites. [break][break] One face was particularly unfamiliar; a young girl in a pretty pink dress, looking like she belonged anywhere but in that throng of people. Koto's attention only briefly fell on her, sitting alone at that table, before drifting off to others in the room, though it returned to her petite figure when he noticed an older man slip in beside her. Hideoki, he believed his name was, though he couldn't be sure. Though he was minutely concerned, he forced his attention elsewhere, assuming that it was just another one of those casual--if not creepy--instances of socialite courting. He'd certainly had plenty of old men approach him over the years, throwing him at their daughters, not to mention the widowers and older businesswomen who'd constantly fawned over that unique head of ginger locks. Par for the course... [break][break] Oh...? [break][break] Koto's gut flipped as he saw the young woman jump to her feet, his gaze following her form as she sped away, brows arching in some halfway point between surprise and concern. Stop. She's not your problem, the rational side of his brain tried to convince him, but he couldn't pull his eyes from that shaking form in the corner, some guilt roiling in his gut even though he'd certainly done nothing wrong. You weren't the one inappropriately hitting on her... [break][break] Still, he felt the need to check on her, remembering all the times he himself had raced off, mortified, terrified, during one of these big events. She was young; this could potentially be her first big event. There wasn't really enough resolve in his being to keep him tethered to that bar. [break][break] He didn't know if she was old enough to drink, but he snatched up a glass of white wine from a passing waiter as he moved across the room. There were a few lingering gazes on the girl, but most seemed to brush off her existence now that she was tucked away. Suited Koto perfectly fine; he hated that center-of-attention bullshit. [break][break] "Hey, you okay?" he asked, stepping up beside her, careful not to get too close; he didn't want to come off as just another creep. He held out the wine glass to her, brows raising in question with the offer as he sipped at that scotch in his other hand. His gaze flitted back towards Hideoki, those brows furrowing in annoyance and some bitter purse reaching his lips. "Ignore him. He's a lecherous old creep, but he's harmless." He wasn't sure if the words were true or not, but he figured they might help. Without looking at her, a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he was even doing this, he simply introduced him, "Ito Masakoto."
[attr="class","campussub"] darling, you're a far-fetched dream.
[attr="class","campustag"] WRITTEN FOR ito masakoto
[attr="class","oppa"]
It should not have a daunting task; anyone could handle one evening in such a grand place, even if the people were practically vultures waiting to swoop in. But Naoko was not your average young lady, the slightest drop of a pin could set her off and leave her trembling in her heels like a leaf in the wind. Any ounce of confidence carried her towards the table, but ultimately ran thin the second that the overbearing presence entered her personal space. It was only average for someone to grow uncomfortable with unwanted physical contact, especially with a malicious stranger, but surely it shouldn’t be enough to run them off into a corner. Right? Wrong. [break][break]
And now the walls of the minuscule corner that were once comforting were now beginning to close in on her with each strangled breath that slipped from her lungs. If only she wasn’t so naive, if only she didn’t lack a backbone to refuse the forceful invitation. The deep-rooted fear of displeasing the only people left in her life kept her from refusing, from keeping her heels rooted into the floor and standing by her own opinion. [break][break]
The hot tears that slid down her cheeks scorched the skin, the sound of constant chatter sounding akin to the buzzing of summer cicadas as she drowned in doubt. Even if her grandparents would understand her situation, what if her sudden instinct to flee wasn’t the correct move? She never even bothered to catch the older man’s name, too frozen to even budge a muscle at the time, and the possibility of him being a figure of importance lingered in the back of her mind. Her jagged nails dug into her noodle-like biceps, leaving crescent moons in the skin as she considered returning to apologize. But the anxiety that gripped her petite form refused to allow her any inch of movement. How could she possibly face anyone in the establishment in her current state? [break][break]
A clear voice cut through the buzzing of the background, the resounding noise causing her breath to hitch and her shoulders to involuntarily flinch. Cautiously, her chocolate pools peeked out from the blunt tresses that surrounded her tear-stained face to find that the male who approached her wasn’t the predator from earlier. Yet, this gave her no immediate relief, instead shame and embarrassment lifted onto her cheeks. His question wasn’t answered immediately, but a dainty hand that was still trembling attempted to grasp the thin stem of the wine glass with a curt nod for politeness. Hopefully, he didn’t notice her ragged breathing as she tightly grasped the glass, bringing it closer to her body but not yet taking a sip. [break][break]
Her gaze had yet to meet his own, but once it finally did, her posture somewhat relaxed upon finding that he wasn’t facing her. At least there was a chance for redemption. ”Th-Thank you..I’m fine..” Her shaky tone wasn’t all that convincing as her free hand reached up to rub at the remnants of tears that remained in her round orbs. His following words caught her attention once again, her red cheeks deepening at the realization that this stranger witnessed the entire scene. ”I-I’m sorry!...I didn’t mean t-to disturb anyone when I ran off..” Immediately, an apology slipped from her lips as she properly turned to face him, yet her eyes remained glued on the man’s dress shoes rather than his face. [break][break]
Rather than run off again, like every fiber of her being screamed for her to, she attempted to face the person who was kind enough to check up on her. Before she could continue to allow some frenzied apology to spill from her like a fountain, his brief introduction cut her off. With the white whine clutched close to her chest, she bowed her upper body respectfully before stuttering out her own name in return. ”N-Nishijima Naoko...sorry again, I-I’ve never been to one of these...things.” The brunette muttered the last part, voice trailing off as she motioned towards bustling socialites.
Koto was half-worried the trembling thing was going to drop that offered wine glass, a part of him hesitating to actually release his hold on it, though he eventually allowed her to take it. There was a strange dichotomy within him, some empathetic understanding of where she was coming from with the nerves paired with some wholly-unwanted snobbish hypocrisy about how he had gotten through this same sort of thing and she should just get stronger. [break][break] Don't be an asshole, he warned himself, calming the tension running rampant in his system with another long sip of scotch. He could almost imagine how much he must have looked like his father, nursing that amber drink like some exhausted elder. [break][break] "Th-Thank you... I'm fine..." [break][break] Koto's attention was caught, interrupting his quiet musings, by that shaky voice, his brows rising in surprise at the sound. He, honestly, hadn't really expected her to respond, half convinced that she'd just choke on her words the moment she tried to speak. He winced at the follow-up, that too-easily-spilled apology. She did turn his way, which was something, Koto offering her the same respect as he finally darted his indigo gaze back to her nervous form. [break][break] "Gods, stop apologizing," he sighed, running a hand through his pale ginger locks, face briefly annoyed before he managed to calm the expression and instead send her some look that was at the midpoint of exasperated and worried. "You don't need to apologize for everything. That guy was being a creep; you shouldn't be apologizing for that. And if you're nervous, apologizing isn't going to make it easier. It'll probably just make you more nervous. Everyone is nervous at these things, even if you can't tell." And he subtly gestured at a crowd of young individuals standing near a bay window across the room. "All of them? They've grown up going to these types of things and they still crowd together like lost gazelles because they can't handle being alone. And the creep hitting on you? He's terrified that he's not going to get a wife and his fortune is going to get split between his bastard brothers when he dies. Not that that excuses him being a fucking creep, but still..." [break][break] He grumbled that last bit, his lips hovering at the curve of his glass. For a moment, he was lost in that bitterness, his disdain for these damnable events and the damnable people that made them unbearable overtaking his system. He took another drink, though, and sighed another calming breath, reminding himself that he was trying to make this girl feel better, not rant at her about the shit society she'd just been thrust into. He glanced at her, half an apology in his gaze. [break][break] "Look, it's okay to be nervous, that's all I'm saying," he tried again, his voice a bit softer. "You're not alone. Hell, I was so terrified during my first event that I threw a drink at my older brother and jumped out a window to avoid the embarrassment." The faintest of amused smiles crested his features, remembering Shiro's face when that grape juice stained the bastard's new suit. He used that humored energy to flash her--what he hoped was--a quick encouraging smile. "You haven't done that yet, so you're already leagues above my performance."
[attr="class","campussub"] darling, you're a far-fetched dream.
[attr="class","campustag"] WRITTEN FOR ito masakoto
[attr="class","oppa"]
The berry colored wine that sloshed around in the transparent glass was proof enough of the bundle of nerves that had yet to quell within the petite gal. Admittedly, Naoko was shocked that the glass didn’t fumble and slip from between her dainty fingers within seconds of reaching for it- maybe it was due to the person at her side being someone that didn’t reek of bad intent. Of course, it was only her nature to assume that each person she crossed paths with had some sort of malignancy in their intentions, but at least his hands weren’t attempting to sneak down her dress. What a world, instead of being able to enjoy a social gathering, a woman of age had to worry about some predator preying on them. [break][break]
In a last ditch attempt at normalcy, the trembling brunette attempted to bring the glass to her bruised lips- courtesy of the pearly whites that gnawed into her bottom lip moments prior to her fleeing into the corner. The second the bitter juice clashed with her tastebuds, her brows furrowed in subtle distaste, unable to hide the shiver that ran up her spine. It wasn’t her first time attempting to swallow down biting liquid that burned down her throat, but it never got easier. [break][break]
In the midst of her gulp, his sudden exasperated sigh caused the mousy girl to flinch and nearly choke on the wine going down her pipes. Gentle coughs flew from her lips, the wine glass being pulled away from her mouth with a fervent yank. Upon recovering from her soft spluttering, her first instinct was to attempt to apologize once more, but she was luckily able to stop herself before she warranted anymore disdain from the stranger. From an outsiders point of view, Naoko’s disposition and expression had shifted into that of a pet dog being scolded for its misbehavior. It had been years since she received a proper scolding, although scoldings back then involved far more....unconventional elements. Any possibility of speaking died in her burning throat, her lips tugged into a sheepish frown as her gaze shifted between the half-full glass and the poignant blue pools that motioned towards the crow of bumbling socialites, that resembled a pit of snakes, to prove his point. [break][break]
That head of chocolate tresses bobbed up and down slightly after each pause he took, in a feeble attempt to convey that she understood his lesson. ”Really..?” Naoko mumbled beneath her breath, doe eyes widening at the information that was settled in her lap throughout his lecturing. Her gaze followed his own, lips pursing at the memory of the middle-aged man’s persistent contact. For a moment, guilt settled in the pit of her stomach, her empathetic heart sympathizing and somewhat understanding his desperation. It was a trait she garnered from her dearly departed mother, the ability to sympathize with the scum of the earth. After a brief second of consideration, she relented on the idea of speaking her guilt aloud, not knowing what reaction she would rouse out of the obviously exasperated ginger. [break][break]
Her glance trailed from the mixture of expensive gowns and suits to the taller man by her side, his softer tone giving her the slightest bit of confidence necessary to look him in the eye. Dexterous fingers plucked at the baby pink fabric of her dress, the sudden image of a man in a wine-stained blouse and Masakoto leaping out of a window causing a wobbly smile to pull at her lips. ”That sounds dangerous...I-I’m glad you didn’t get seriously injured.” She instinctively eyed his form, as if ensuring that he wasn’t sporting a broken arm or some artificial limb. Realizing what she did, a red hue overtook her cheeks, silently hoping that he didn’t notice the once over. However, the flash of an encouraging smile esas enough to keep her from shrinking back into her stuffy corner. [break][break]
A sigh flew from her chest, shoulders losing an ounce of tension as they slumped downward. ”Thank you for helping me calm down...but I-I’m not sure if I can go back out there..” Naoko paused, hands motioning towards her neck, her gaze flickering back and forth from the ginger to the crowd in the center of the room. ”It feels really...suffocating in here.” her hands dropped back to her sides, teeth chewing on the inside of her cheek. ”B-But you don’t have to stay here...I’m sure you have something better to do than babysit me.” It was a stale attempt at a joke, but it was a step in the right direction now that a sheepish smile was settled in her face rather than a permanent frown.
Koto could have laughed at that distasteful expression had it not immediately brought to mind his own initial experiences with alcohol. Daichi Ito, a man who thrived in control of all facets of his life, made a point to be the one to introduce each of his children to alcohol. This meant, as with so many of the things in the Ito children's lives, that their father chose for them what their first experience was like. For Koto, this meant an especially strong whiskey shoved into his hand when he was 15. He could recall with perhaps disgustingly perfect clarity the burn of that liquor stinging through his young form. Hell, he'd sputtered rather similarly to the young woman at his side, a thought that brought the smallest of humored grins to his features. [break][break] It felt strange, honestly, sitting here and offering his advice and guidance. What the hell kind of help could he provide? He'd spent the past twenty-some years struggling to find his own place in this toxic world; he was hardly an expert on surviving. [break][break] "Really...?" [break][break] Gods, those doe eyes were so intimidating in their silent persuasion. How the hell was he supposed to just sit back and let someone like this struggle and cry? If he had, he'd be just as bad, in his eyes, as that bastard with the roaming eyes and exploratory hands. And if there was one thing he never wanted to be, it was that. [break][break] At least she can manage eye contact, he quietly mused, some of his countenance calming as that faint smile crested her features. He was further amused to see that wandering gaze and flushed expression. It was almost painful, the amount of similarities he saw in Naoko and his younger self. Again, not that he was much better years later, but he at least could manage some semblance of a sophisticated, in-control mask. [break][break] ”Thank you for helping me calm down...but I-I’m not sure if I can go back out there... It feels really...suffocating in here.” [break][break] Koto cocked a curious brow, watching her expression and gestures from the corner of his eye as he sipped at that tumbler of scotch. [break][break] ”B-But you don’t have to stay here... I’m sure you have something better to do than babysit me.” [break][break] "Not really," he replied easily enough with some disinterested shrug. Sure, he probably should have been playing the part of charming host, going around like Sudohara was and greeting their company's guests and actually asserting himself as the face of the Ito clan in Tokyo, but there wasn't much interest there. Plus, Naoko was a guest, too, right? Meaning making sure she was comfortable was part of his duties as co-host, right? [break][break] "Mmmmmm, if you really don't want to go back..." he glanced around, clearly mulling over whether or not to say what was on his mind. Again, he didn't want to come off as one of those creepy pieces of shit. "I have a place I sometimes go to when I get too overwhelmed at these things. I could uh..." and he glanced away sheepishly, his own cheeks tinting ever so slightly. "I could show you if you'd like."
