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.
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[attr="class","wordz"]“Come on Francis, stop fussing. Let’s go,” Seiko pesters, throwing her purse over her shoulder. She rolls painted, shimmering eyes, and she feels her false lashes brush against her eyebrows. Francis turns, grabbing his blazer from the chair next to him. He stops again and she groans. “What is it now?” [break]
“Hold on,” he says with a finger up turning to pull something from a drawer. It’s a necklace, likely an item from his family. He has people to impress - it was an event held by his father's company afterall. Standards to uphold. She stands particularly still as he approaches her, reaching his hands behind her neck to clasp it on. Seiko scoffs internally as she feels him pull away from her as quickly as possible. He hated touching her. She knew it felt wrong to him. He hated it. He couldn’t stand women. A misogynistic gay man, just her luck to date really. It was so much worse than she had bargained for but unfortunately this relationship looked good on both. “Alight, let’s go.”
[break][break]
They complimented well, as they usually do. His suit, her dress matched in harmonious tones of maroon, now accompanied by the silver jewels of the Miyano women. The smile behind glossy lips was fake, perhaps a little timid in comparison to how it used to be. They float through the event together, his hand uncomfortably placed on her back. Seiko is careful, only sipping minimally at the alcoholic beverages. She smiles politely when people ask her questions. She looks at Francis for reassurance for her answers – were they enough? There’s a couple of glances she struggles to gauge, so she just faces forward and talks as she should. Time passes, and she spots a familiar face approach. [break]
“Hello Emile, how have you been?” Francis greets warmly in French. Seiko had picked up some of the language, having been with Francis for some years now. Francis’s grandparents always valued the family learning their language. Although, she was far from fluent, better at understanding than speaking. So, she just smiles slightly, and raises her hand in a quiet, polite wave.[break]
“Hello,” Seiko adds, feeling Francis’s hand sit a little firmer on her waist. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, black pumps clicking gently. It’s uncomfortable, but not because the heels are causing her feet to ache. Her eyes dart to the side, away from Francis, before back to Emile. It has been more difficult for her to mask her emotions recently. Every moment Francis shifts, she feels it. She spends a good few moments analyzing each movement, wondering what each could mean. Was she fulfilling his expectations or was she upsetting him in some way? If he was upset, what would that mean for her at the end of the night? She plays with some of the bracelets absent mindedly, observing cautiously.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut nec mi non magna dictum imperdiet. Sed auctor tellus enim, ut vestibulum sem tincidunt condimentum. In sollicitudin faucibus placerat. Nulla facilisi. Mauris vel fringilla elit. Etiam eget pharetra ex. Mauris faucibus ex eros, vitae ultrices felis bibendum eget. [break][break]
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But sometimes the truth is just my point of view; not what is real and not what is true.
TW: Mentions of ab/se.[break][break]
Typical. Seiko was just typical. 'Cliche', perhaps. She despised it. She didn't want to live such a predictable life. Seiko didn't want to be just like anyone else. She wanted to be important. So she would do as she must. [break][break]
---[break][break]
Seiko's bland life was plotted out for her when she was born. Born in the shadow of her older brother, Ryouma, she didn't have a chance. He had six years on her, and was already exceeding expectations of him before she was conceived. Unfair, she'd call it. There were large shoes to fill, and he was filling them plenty fine on his own. Seiko's parents poured a lot of energy and focus into raising Ryouma. Seiko was forgotten as the renowned lawyer fixated on raising his son into a better version of himself. She was a smart kid, and thrived with her access to expensive education. Her achievements were never seen, but she continued to push, to be the best she could be regardless. Seiko never had time to reflect on her lack of attention from her family, instead she continued working, studying. Only then, perhaps, she might be able to take over her father's law firm instead. [break][break]
With her head in the books she didn't even notice the way the environment changed around her. Seiko didn't see her mother slipping away quietly from their family. She didn't know until it was too late, and Ryouma came to her. He didn't know what to do, knowing that their mother was leaving with another man, and sought comfort from his sister instead. Seiko never got a goodbye from her mother. She was simply left behind to be nothing. Ryouma desperately sought some familial connections with Seiko, crumbling under the pressure now that their family was falling apart and their father on edge. Seiko never humoured him however. She blamed them both for their mother leaving without a word. Perhaps if they hadn't treated her like nothing simply because she was a woman, maybe then things could have been different. As soon as her mother had stopped working as their father's secretary to have children, she was never respected the same. She was no longer of use to her father. Or at least, that's how Seiko felt it went. Fifteen and confused, she gave her brother a cold shoulder, despising him, and hating her father all the same. Regardless, she kept working. There was still something for her to prove. [break][break]
High school wasn't easy. Coming out of it wasn't any easier. Moving to university was a challenge of its own, as Seiko organised everything for herself. She didn't really have many friends, but she did have a couple of casual enemies attending university with her. It was no surprise really, it was prestigious education, all the same affluent trust fund kids she'd always known went the same way she did. Either way, there was more pressure. Petty school conflicts. Her brother pestering her for attention. Her father's sudden interest in her progress. It was a lot to keep up with. Every time she'd start falling behind, feeling like she wasn't doing well enough, she felt unheard. Was it really her lack of effort, or was it everyone around her? [break][break]
Seiko was nineteen when she met Francis. Francis was her key to success, as she saw it. Perhaps if she had a respected man under her thumb, perhaps she would be heard. It was at a acquaintance's birthday that he approached her red in the face. The half French boy enquired what she was up to these days, and she was happy to divulge her accomplishments as a law student thus far. They discuss their parents, and the businesses they run; the Miyano's hotel chain, the Murakami-Inoue law firm. Then he asked her out for coffee, and that was where it all began. Seiko began dating the harmony of deceit. [break][break]
Dating Francis was exactly what was expected of her. It seemed predictable, but she knew she could make it more than that. Seiko didn't particularly care for Francis, but she was simply not stupid enough to even imagine that Francis cared for her at all. She was just suitable for him. Francis approached her with a red face when they met, but it was not for her. Fortunately for Seiko, being interested in her was not a requirement for what she needed from her boyfriend. She wanted leverage. She got it too. Seiko began to feel listened to. Unfortunately as things continued with Francis, things became more and more uncomfortable. Seiko could see Francis destroying himself to be someone he wasn't. If you asked her what was wrong, Seiko would tell you that Francis is overworked and a little stressed. However, the reality was that he was having an affair with a man, and forced himself upon her to try convince himself that it wasn't happening. He was frustrated often, and Seiko found herself walking on eggshells around him. The cost of Francis's social leverage was getting a little too high, perhaps. [break][break]
They never separated. Seiko became a little more reserved, scared to speak out of place, but frustrated that she allowed herself to be that way. Perhaps if she weren't so stubborn, she wouldn't have stayed with Francis, yet she spends every weekend at his apartment. It makes her tired, and she seeks extra stimulation. It starts when she dabbles in drugs. To improve her studies, she'd tell herself. This didn't take her very far ultimately, and only served to expand her social network. She manages to scrape by with only an addiction to nicotine as she enters her internship. However, her mindset is disordered. She isn't satisfied with a simple or predictable life. Every day would pass the same way it always would and it drove Seiko mad. [break][break]
"Hey, you've been working on the Toyosaki case at your firm right?" a 'friend' had asked once. Seiko breathes smoke into his face. "Yes, not that I can discuss that with you." They banter casually for a little bit before his tone gets serious. He has a proposition for her. He wants to buy the information. A crime no doubt, and Seiko recognises this demand as ridiculous immediately. Yet, she pauses. Seiko feels something tingle through her body in curiosity. Her mind had already sort it's way around any issues that could crop up. After some more back and forth, they make a deal. For Seiko this would be her first time, but it was certainly not her last. Her memory is sharp and as someone who excelled in their position, she works more cases at the firm. She learns more things, and she sells what she knows. Seiko is unsatisfied with this. She wants to be something more, and she wants something new in her life.
