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","dangertxt"] Finally. The weekend. No school, no homework, no work, no early mornings. Just freedom and alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Between classes and working at the cafe, he’d been so swamped lately that he was dreaming of going out and having fun every single second of the day - he kept checking the clock and the clock kept moving slower. So when the big hand and the small hand finally fell at that sweet spot of the analog clock in the front of the classroom, Yoichi packed up and raced home to shower.
The weekend stretched from Friday night to Sunday night, but the short break still amounted to such a little amount of free time, Yoichi had made a habit of going hard on Friday, a little less hard (but still hard) on Saturday, and took Sunday as his only real day of rest, though he still liked to go out for food or coffee with his friends Sunday afternoon before the week began again. Whatever he could do to live it to the fullest, squeeze every last minute out of his time.
It didn’t take much that night. He wasn't particularly hydrated and he hadn't eaten much, but that wasn't an accident. Just two shots and Yoichi was tingling. One more down and he was grinning freely, moving his way through the crowd as he took another. Music blaring around him (namely, Prince’s Cream), he moved in time with whoever was close, mostly guys he’d seen around there before. He was four deep when he found himself at the bar again, leaning against the counter wet with spilled drinks as he waited to catch the bartender’s eye. Once he did, he ordered two more, one for at the counter and one with tonic for on the go. He chatted the man up for the few moments it took to get his things and put it on some hopeful guy's tab, only glancing to his left when the bartender walked away to help someone at the other end and- Oh? Who was this?
“Hi~” he lilted, shifting his weight to lean on an elbow, head tilted curiously forward. Yoichi, a regular there, had never seen this guy before. Not that he could remember, at least, though that wasn’t saying much. He didn’t remember the bulk of his nights out. Taking a long sip of his fresh drink to wash down the lingering ester-y tang of the shot, he sized the guy up. He didn’t look too enthusiastic about being approached, but why else go to a bar like this? He could change his mind, he was sure. Yoichi was a good talker. He thought so when he was drunk, at least. “What‘re you drinking?”
[attr="class","skullbody"]The base drum of the bar speakers pounded at his headache with each beat. Kane's evening had been needlessly complicated, running from a crowd he'd rather not deal with at a bar some blocks down. His inability to frequent his favorite place lead him... here. His golden gaze scanned the crowd while he took his second shot of the evening. He grimmaced at his small glass. He ordered tequila shot but the contents were iffy. Either way, it started to clear the nagging pain at his temples.[break][break]
Without a schedule for tomorrow, Kane wanted to take every advantage to have a full night. Something different and a little sultry. He eyed a stranger across the room with streaked red hair. He thought he was looking towards him, only to notice his eyes drifted more right. It made him finally notice whoever was next to him. A small blonde with a dizzied stance, ordering another drink it sounded. 'Probably unwise' he thought to himself, noticing how intoxicated he was already. But who was he to recommend good decisions?[break][break]
As if the other could hear his thoughts, the blonde turned his head at Kane and smiled a hello. He was a little beam of sunlight in the murky club, huh. [break][break]
"Tequila." Kane looked down at his empty shot glass and back to the stranger. The other's elbow leaned against the table made him seem casual, or like a sweet flirt. He absolutely must taste like sugared lime. "I would ask you the same but, maybe a better question would be what haven't you had." Kane flashed a gentle smirk to play. In the back of his head he wondered if it annoyed the red-haired guy to see them talking. It was a nice feeling to think so.
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[attr="class","skullinfo"]295 WORDS / Amane Yoichi
[attr="class","dangertxt"] The man glanced down at his glass, empty, but Yoichi’s periwinkle gaze stayed heavy on his visage, sizing him up. I would ask you the same but maybe a better question would be what haven't you had.
He giggled at that comment and felt his cheeks, already pink with intoxication, warm from the teasing. The playful smirk the other gave him encouraged Yoichi’s own grin to grow, the boy happy to have gotten not only a response but a follow up to it, as well. Maybe he wasn’t so unhappy with being approached, then. Maybe he was nervous? Didn’t do this sort of thing often? He looked pretty put together - not really the type Yoichi was used to coming across in places such as that cheap, sweaty bar, which was partially what made the guy catch his eye in the first place. “You’re right. That’s probably a much shorter list,” he agreed, happy to play along, although tequila had been his liquor of choice for the night, too. “Looks like you’re empty,” he pointed out, the liquor bringing out a greater hint of the inaka twang in his accent than what he usually allowed. It was much easier to stifle when sober. He shifted to lean forward on the bar with both elbows after reaching to grab the shot glasses that had been placed at the edge. “Luckily for you, I got two this time.” Yoichi pushed one in front of the man and kept one for himself. Wasn’t his cash paying for it, so he was happy to share.
Assuming he’d partake, the bubbly blonde tossed back his own without flinching and set it back up on the edge for the bartender.
“Better to drink with a partner, yeah? Have a fun night,” he encouraged with a wink and slipped away from the sticky bartop, back into the crowd to try to locate the guy he’d been hanging on whose face he’d already forgotten.
It wasn’t too long later, only forty minutes or so, that he found himself in the bathroom smoking. Of all the bars in the area, this one had the nastiest, so he was trying to make quick work of his little break, swaying on the sink that he’d made his temporary chair. Despite the room spinning, he wasn’t going to puke - a mantra he often ended up chanting to himself on nights like that - and a cigarette usually helped him fight through the urge. A social, only-when-drunk smoker, he’d borrowed one and a light off some redhead, and after a moment of back and forth, it became evident that the smoke didn’t come free. “Ugh, hey, asshole,” he muttered, words more slurred as he moved to push past him than they were an hour ago. “I said-” The smaller boy was cut off by a forearm against his throat, keeping him pressed against the disgusting, vandalized wall with limited air. If he got some weird disease from it, he would personally hunt him down and take him out. His gross mouth moved to his neck and he was going on about him spending all kinds of money on him that night. Was he the guy whose tab he was on? “Let me-”
[attr="class","skullbody"]Kane would be lying if he said he didn't like the warm reaction his teasing got out of the other. It warmed up his mood just the slightest to ease some tension. He held his smirk while he listened to him retort. Blondie was a cute drunk, if such a type existed. He didn't expect to meet someone so gentle looking in a scum bar like this. But he would take what he could get. [break][break]
"So it is," Kane peered his eyes to his empty drink and then back again. Before he could do something about it himself Blondie slid him one of his. "If you're sure," his eyebrows raised, only being polite and not turning down a free drink. Before he could overthink it, Kane swallowed the shot. He didn't take his eyes off Blondie as he did. “Better to drink with a partner, yeah? Have a fun night.”"Oh I agree," He smiled, a twinge at the end of the lips. Blondie didn't even wince at the alcohol, which maybe he shouldn't have found surprising, yet it was. An interesting person indeed. [break][break]
A split second before Kane knew he wanted to continue speaking to him, Blondie had left. He stiffened back up in his seat, slyly trying to catch where he went but was unable to. Of course, the only intriguing guy he'd seen here was off so soon. The rest of the sweaty messes in this bar were looking worse for wear now.[break][break]
He considered leaving. Or settling. Or waiting. Nothing really was striking his mood. He took another two shots and was just dizzy enough to feel relaxed. He danced with someone who quickly started to irritate him, and eventually excused himself to the restroom to get away from him. If he was in there longer than five minutes he was sure the guy would forget about him and he could ease his way out of the place. It was about time to give up on finding any good in here.[break][break]
He pulled his sleeve past his wrist and pushed the door without touching it with his skin. The bathroom smelled of smoke and moisture before he even walked in. Immediately he was stopped in his tracks by a couple having at each other over the sink top. His upper lip curled instinctually and he hissed out an annoyed "Excuse me-." It took a good second to realize what was happening. It wasn't just some drunk couple mistaking it for their bedroom. [break][break]
"Break it up," Kane grabbed the redhead by the back of his collar and pulled him backward off the sink guy. Blondie, huh?"It's the men's room, not the fuckin love hotel. Get the hell out of here man," He spoke specifically to the redhead. His head was angled up and his gaze narrowed. [break][break] "Mind your own business, asshole," the redhead flared while he wiped his own spit from his face with his sleeve. [break][break]
"You don't want to start anything, I promise you," Kane nearly laughed, a flicker of a smirk at his mouth. [break][break]
"Mind your own fucking business-" the redhead charged at him. Kane swooped out of the way, thankful the redhead was as drunk as he was, else he might not have moved fast enough. He elbowed behind him, striking the man between his shoulder blades and causing him to stumble to his knees. [break][break] His full attention turned towards Blondie. "Let's go." He grabbed the young man's wrist and pulled him out the door, across the bar, and out front to the cold winter street. He continued on with him down the road, really hoping the red idiot didn't follow. Kane wasn't in the mood to fight tonight. [break][break] Eventually, he tucked them in between two buildings. A small dark alleyway they could hide. The cold air stung his nose. "You alright?" Kane asked quietly, seeing his breath between them.
[attr="class","dangertxt"] Break it up? Solid advice, jerk, he thought, still trying to do just that.
The change in weight distribution when the guy was pulled away had Yoichi slipping off the sink, finding unsteady footing on the spinning floor while wiping spot from his neck and mouth with his sleeve. He stayed pressed closed to the wall, suddenly not so concerned with its state of cleanliness. He would’ve stepped around them if the four walls allowed a few more inches of leeway, but they were both bigger than him and the bathroom was tight since it was meant to be a quick stop between drinks and grinding more than it was a gathering space.
A quiet gasp left him when the redheaded man charged, rigid at the thought that Bartop Guy was going to take a hit for him, but he sidestepped and delivered a rough blow to the guy’s back instead, leaving Yoichi blinking in surprise. Suddenly, he was stumbling forward. The man’s grip was tight, wrapped all the way around his wrist, and he was moving before he even realized he was being taken out of that nasty bathroom. He followed right behind the man, not that he had a choice, and tried to focus on not tripping as they shoved through the crowd, out the door.
The cold bite of winter air was sobering and helped his head stop spinning, but that in turn allowed space for other emotions to well up. It wasn’t his first time dealing with jerks like that, but it still shook him whenever it happened. That twisting feeling in his stomach, the fear in his chest from lingering fight or flight, the uneven breathing and shaking hands all were the telltale signs of things almost going bad for him. They had yet to go much further than almost, but the worry of the day they would was always there. So when the guy stopped in some dark, secluded alleyway, his guard immediately went back up. He was flirting with him at the bar. Was he going to try to pull something now, too? Yoichi took back his trembling hand and sniffled.
Processing was a struggle. He was scared. Really, he was. Of that other guy and of him. But now he just wanted… What did he want? Comfort? He wanted to throw up. He knew that much. That idiot in the bathroom didn’t let him finish the cigarette that was supposed to get rid of that sensation. His eyes were heavy and fighting to keep them open only made it worse.
You alright?
He nodded his response, the motion causing tears to drip from his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with the back of his wrist.
“Yeah, sorry,” he assured him, voice small. “It’s ‘cause he bought me a lot of drinks. You didn’t have to-” Churning in his stomach cut him off, had him leaning back against icy cold brick with his hand pressed to his mouth. Shit. Was he really about to puke in front of him? “You can just leave me here. I’ll be fine.” And he wanted the guy out of there before he made a mess of his shoes.
