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","dorado2"] If you're not gettin' shot at, you're doin' somethin' wrong.[break][break] For the majority of the weekend the old dog had been making an attempt to battle through the mountain of paperwork that had been growing slowly on his desk since last week, and after having ignored it for so long, he was now paying the consequences of having too much clerical shit on his hands. “If I could choke a piece a’ paper, I would!” Bram could usually be heard grumbling beneath his breath in the PD’S office, often accompanied by two large fists slamming into the surface of his desk, most likely annoying those working anywhere within earshot of the big old grump. So after verbally threatening a piece of paper, it was advised that Bram took a nice little peaceful stroll through the streets of Tokyo.
Like a towering giant, the Superintendent General of the Police Department could be spotted wandering down the busy streets of the Shibuya 渋谷 shopping district, simply going about his own business on an average Sunday afternoon. Despite not being on duty, Bram was always cautious about where he was placing his gaze, and he was never going to turn down a little nosey about. The General would argue that he was going undercover; catching criminals by surprise in broad daylight, however his overall appearance was heavily subtracting from that. Rough around the edges, big as a boulder, easily distinguishable eye patch and messily thrown up hair, General Ishida was anything but subtle. In fact it were as if he were a walking ‘Stay away from me’ sign.
Despite these conflicting motives, it was a good thing that he was keeping one eye out, because up ahead trouble appeared to be brewing right before his very eyes. It was common for the old man’s eyesight to fail him, but a problem as simple as this happened to be something he could sniff out from a mile away. The streets in the Shibuya district were known for their busyness, so when Bram spotted a large crowd growing a bit too angsty for his liking, it was only his natural instinct to step in. Like a walking brick wall, the gigantic man threw himself into the mosh pit of shoppers, squeezing out and sending an amalgamation of displeased remarks and sinful vocabulary his way. “Oi oi oi!” Bram raised his voice, letting out a thunderous roar as a couple of bystanders scurried away. “Let’s keep our hands to ourselves, ‘aight lads?” He continued mockingly, letting out an unphased laugh as he began forcefully shoving angered citizens out of the way in order to break up the crowd and create order.
That was when the old man spied a much smaller, dark haired girl caught up in the madness, unwillingly being shoved about by those much bigger than her. A displeased rumble could be heard from the inner depths of his throat before he made a beeline to her, lips tightly drawn in a rather intimidating fashion. When the white-haired male made it to her side, he placed an incredibly large, calloused hand upon her shoulder, practically engulfing it whole. Maybe she was a child; she was tiny enough to be one.
“Hey kid!” The General grumbled loudly, raising his voice above the chorus of the crowd in order to get her attention- as if his overbearing presence hadn’t already. His digits dug into her shoulder bone slightly, unaware that his grip was so rough. “Get outta’ here, what do ya think you’re doin’ girl?” There was something fatherly about the way he spoke, but it was also rather condescending and insensitive. Bram could feel her shaking like a leaf beneath his grip, so she was clearly terrified, and she wasn't moving either, which was proving to be a problem in their current situation. That was when had chosen to take matters into his own hands -quite literally.- Setting his thoughts into motion, Bram removed his hand from her shoulder and slid it down before grabbing onto the petite girl's upper arm, fully being able to wrap his digits around it with ease. “Chop chop, Kid, follow me.” Bram mumbled before dragging her out of the crowd, not really giving her an opportunity to ‘follow’ him, but instead be hauled out by the General. The older man led her to an unoccupied bench that sat alongside the row of shops. It was a safe enough distance away from the crowd, which had died down due to Bram’s rather aggressive and disruptive course of actions.
“Here, sit.” Bram announced, almost as though he were training a puppy, all the while freeing the brunette’s noodle-like limb and gesturing towards the bench as the odd pair stood before it. The giant man threw a harsh glare back at where the commotion had just freshly occurred before parting his lips to mumble to himself. “People ‘ave no humanity these days, huh?” -A certainly rich coming from him.
[attr="class","campussub"] darling, you're a far-fetched dream.
[attr="class","campustag"] WRITTEN FOR Ishida Bram
[attr="class","oppa"]
Many would compare the bustling streets of Tokyo, Japan to a concrete jungle on a good day. And complete hell on a bad one. Unlike the calm of the countryside towns where you could stroll down a paved road to the nearest family-owned grocery shop without any struggle, you needed the willpower and strength of a thousand suns to get you through a metropolitan crowd. Whether you were a businessman chattering on your phone while making your way to work or an old woman hoping to visit your favorite boutique with your grandchild- if you didn’t have the necessary grit then you might as well count yourself out. The Nishijima politicians were masters at navigating the busy crosswalks and brutal sidewalks when they weren’t using their expensive car to drive themselves around, so it was only natural that they forgot the dangers of a simple shopping trip for a beginner. [break][break]
For their meek granddaughter Naoko, nothing was ever as easy as it seemed. She was someone who was fortunate enough to grow up in a smaller city, away from the general aggression of Tokyo’s streets. Therefore, she had no experience on her own in the renowned concrete jungle of Japan. So why was it that she was currently being shoved around in a cesspool of chattering citizens, purse clutched so tightly that her knuckles were bleeding a striking white? As antsy as Naoko was, it was crystal clear that she had a difficult time refusing the wishes of and thoroughly disappoint the grandparents that graciously took her in years ago. So when they began to complain about their joint pain and her grandfather got the bright idea to turn to the young girl and ask her to tackle their weekly grocery shopping, how could she refuse? [break][break]
In hindsight, maybe she should’ve listened when her mother would go on an unprovoked tangent about how pushy her parents could be when they desired a certain outcome. Maybe she wouldn’t be in this stressful situation if she did. Move! A masculine shout was thrown in her direction, followed by a rough shove to her side and a shocked squeak drew her out of the trembling trance that overtook her figure. Naoko had made the heart-wrenching mistake of halting right in the middle of a stampede, her feet unable to draw her any further than a handful of steps after witnessing the carnage of the suffocating crowd. As a result, she lost whatever moment she had in the beginning of her terrifying journey and was being tossed around like some inanimate object. Any fight within her dwindled down as her body was shoved by a particularly violent crowd, feet stumbling and barely keeping her from falling back onto her butt. [break][break]
Just as her petite body flew back for umpteenth time, a calloused hand settled on her dainty shoulder and completely engulfed it, effectively stopping the trajectory of her inevitable fall. Chestnut orbs widened to the size of dinner plates as a booming voice that once faded into the crowd was now being shot directly at her, fingers digging into her frail shoulder bone with a force that left her soul frozen. Slowly craning her neck, the tiny brunette was shocked into silence at the sight of the hulking man with an ominous eyepatch. Her lips parted as her barked at her once more, his words sounding muffled to her garbled brain that was struck with terror. It was clear that Naoko’s trembling limbs were not going to gain mobility any time soon, which left the two in a sticky situation until the giant of a man took matters into his own hands. Before she could even attempt to protest, her small body was yanked from its spot and she was unceremoniously pulled away from the wild crowd like a rag doll. [break][break]
Her eyes darted around as if silently begging for help from the bystanders or looking for an escape route, her precautious mentality believing that the large stranger was somewhat angry with her. In this moment, she had to wonder which fate was worse- this man’s wrath or a stampede of careless individuals. Her noodle arm was eventually released once they finally reached a respectable distance from the streets. Naoko left her gaze trained on her sneakers as she quickly slid onto the bench, tears springing into her chocolate pools while she mentally prepared herself for a rough lecture. Dainty hands folded in her lap, his disgruntled mumbling barely reaching her ears before she began to bow her head incessantly. [break][break]
”I-I’m so sorry! I..I didn’t mean to get in your- your way!” Apologies spilled from her lips like she was a water fountain, her watery eyes flickering from his face to his shoes. It was clear there was a misunderstanding, the timid young girl had a gift for assuming everything was her fault. ”P-Please forgive me...” Her head remained bowed after her final plea, lips turned into a frown as her short brunette tresses shielded her face.
[attr="class","dorado2"] If you're not gettin' shot at, you're doin' somethin' wrong.[break][break] Aaah shit. Good job, idiot. You’ve only gone ‘nd made the poor thing cry. A rugged sigh slipped through Bram’s now parted lips, embodying the realisation that he now faced in having to comfort this mess of a girl. It was almost as if he were watching her break herself down before his very own eyes, well- singular eye. His judgmental, jade orb persisted with watching as the tears began to fall, paired with a union of fumbled words, anxiety and doubt. She was like a piece of delicate fine china, unable to bear even the slightest amount of weight placed upon her. It seemed like even something as typical as a gust of wind would be enough to shatter her front. How was he going to get himself out of this one?
Followed by another sigh, the General began to lower his tree trunk-like body, adjusting himself so that he was now knelt down upon one knee in front of the bench seating the tearful girl. He considered that maybe looming over her wasn’t the best position to take, and therefore strode to make the atmosphere less unintentionally threatening.
“Listen kid,” the aged male began; his voice still containing unshakable harshness, despite purposefully being lowered to a much more bearable level of volume. “Your words only mean half as much when you say ‘em twice, so don’t ya dare go off apologizing again.” Like a father figuring out how to navigate aiding a baby through their tears, Bram shuffled on the weight of his knee, occasionally rubbing his eyebrows and fidgeting as he pondered ahead on how to advance further without making an even bigger mess. “You wasn’t in the way, kid, now stop with the tears, people are given’ me funny looks.” Bram grumbled like a dog, lifting his wise gaze to eye ongoing citizens of the public who were being all too nosey for their own good.
Gradually realising that his readily forthcoming and unfiltered nature wasn’t serving any advantages, Bram soon arrived at the conclusion that he really would need to be cautious with the brunette. It seemed that even breathing in her vicinity shook her up, and her inability to look him in the eye was a clear indication of the fear that riddled her lithe frame. Shovelling down the urge to simply grab her chin and tell her to stop being a baby, the General gave in to another attempt at comforting the girl.
“Look at me,” Bram’s masculine voice spoke out calmly, attempting to dull the edge of his tone that he had adopted from interrogating criminals and more of the sort. His dull, emerald orbs soon met with tearful, chocolate pools. “You were jus’ in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothin’ bad on your part. Now take a couple deep breaths and wipe those tears.” The larger man gave his knee a quick knock, accompanying this action with a fatherly smile.
“The name’s Ishida Bram. Any chance I can catch yours?”
