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.
It was late, that much was clear by the lack of patrons on the train and by how heavy his eyelids felt. He had been trying to be better about his sleep schedule. You couldn’t get your taxes done at 2 in the morning after all, and he was a business owner first…arcade cabinet addict second. The past few nights had been rough, but tonight was especially horrible. He’d woken up later than usual to head out and get his flyers printed, and the person he’d put in charge of handing them out all over the district called out from a cold. Understandable. But the flyers needed to go out. After all, the event on them was a limited time only and he wanted to get his money’s worth out of them.
But Yoshi didn’t care about that as he stared out the window with dead eyes as the train slowed to a halt. All he could think about was getting home, maybe scarfing down a snack. He wanted sleep more than anything, and his feet were definitely ridden with blisters. The speakers blared out his destination, as well as an announcement that trains would stop running soon. He stood, knees popping as he did, and ambled through the exit. Yoshi stared at the empty platform, noting how at peace he felt despite what should’ve been a very creepy moment for anyone else. And then he heard footsteps. Without a word he rushed towards the exit, patting himself down for his wallet. The last thing he needed right now is to fight off a drunk.
“Where is it….where…?” he hissed as he came up with nothing but a crumpled up flyer that he had shoved into his hoodie pocket. Did he leave it on the train? Or had he left it at home? If that was the case, how exactly did he make it on the train? Ugh, he was too tired to try to remember at the moment. He turned his head, grimace set as one of the last passengers slowly made their way towards him. Maybe he should hop the little turnstile. No one was around right? He’d done it before. He could do it again. …No. No, he couldn’t not with someone watching him. Maybe- Maybe he’d just move out of the way. Excuse himself and wait until they left before hopping over and making a run back home. At least he had his house keys. “Uh, sorry. Looking for change.” He said gruffly, eyes averted now that he got a closer look at the other night owl. He swallowed nervously, and despite himself his customer service voice came. “Good night!”
He could’ve kicked himself.
✉ tag -- ( katsura satoru ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
The smell of alcohol was strong, and he wondered how large of a tab the man had. Was he a light weight or a heavy weight? From what his waitress had mentioned, he’d been dancing on the DDR console for a hot minute. She was tiredly trying to dissuade the crowd into leaving as the drunk looked him over, in his haze sizing him up he assumed. He braced for a sucker punch that didn’t come. Through the slurring he can still catch an accent and vaguely wondered how high this foreigner’s tolerance was. He wasn’t really going to ban the guy. He hadn’t done anything too egregious, just irritating to the staff. But he was drunk, and probably abusing hyperbole. He probably wouldn’t even remember tomorrow morning he had banned himself from the arcade.
“You’ve got to be joking.” The girl at his side said in exasperation, the mask of customer service finally broken after probably half an hour of arguing with the guy. Yoshi meanwhile stared bewildered at the poor man. He really was drunk. “S-Sir…I’m the owner.” He stated as if that would be enough. But it was for him. He probably spent the most time in this arcade compared to any other employee. Not just for work, but for fun. When it was late at night or early day, he could just turn his brain off and sit at a cabinet in peace. Still, it didn’t look like he’d budge so he looked over at the girl and nodded at her gently. “I’ll take care of it, if you could just bring me whatever the man was having, please.” He ordered. She didn’t argue, merely sighing, and shrugging the responsibility of the whole debacle off. She came back quickly enough, with a can of coke at the side. She knew him well enough; he’d need a chaser. He was pretty light weight and didn’t really drink after all.
It couldn’t have been any longer than twenty minutes, give or take five but soon enough even in the dimly lit arcade, Yoshi’s cheeks were flushed red. The room spun if he moved his head too quickly, and he had shucked off his hoodie to reveal a tattered blank tank top. “A’ight, two out of ahh three. I win you drink a gallon of water off the machine.” Yoshi declared, words slurring as he hopped onto the console and planted his feet squarely on the arrows. At this point only muscle memory was guiding him forward, the poor man squinting at the extremely vibrant screen before him. “I picka song…then you, then a fan fav.” He added.
✉ tag -- ( Sangster Lee ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
He nodded along with the stranger, lips twitching into a nervous grin as he spoke up. To be fair, Yoshi could’ve told he didn’t frequent clubs form his dress. At least, not Hysteria. That just wasn’t the vibe really. Especially when there was a constant risk of getting your clothes stains from fights or spilled drinks or even rust off barrels to sit on or exposed beams of the building. The man mentioned clients though and like a dimwitt Yoshi blurted out, “Like a dealer?” The idiot of course slapped a hand on his mouth and looked away. “Sorry- tha’s rude.” He muttered rushing through his apology for fear of offending a possible new friend. OR acquaintance? New, friendly acquaintance. At the mention of a sister, he was forced to look back to fellow nervous nelly, glancing over the hair once more and then running a good look over the brother’s features. His eyes, the nose, the mannerisms. They didn’t match in appearance, but he did have someone in mind that matched the appearance at least. Then again, it wasn’t like pink was an uncommon color for people to dye. He’d considered it once for spring.
Narrowed eyes then widened, as Yoshi perked up at the mention of the arcade. Yes, his baby, his pride and joy. Absolute delight with a very fickle profit margin he was still grappling with. “Oh- uh- you know the cheaper pa- um- near the r-red light district…” he trailed off as he began to explain where before recovering as he heard a name he recognized. “Oh, Sachi! I know her!!” He smiled, happy that his risk was already paying off. Sachi was nice enough to him, and she didn’t cause a lot of trouble when she decided to come around. “Y-You should come by with her. I’ll give you some tokens.” He added with a small laugh. Yoshi hesitated to continue as the guy more or less rattled off something else and paused a moment to process. E waited a second just so he could make sure they weren’t about to speak over each other before gingerly taking the man’s hand and shaking it. “Igarashi Yoshi. B-but Yoshi is just fine too.” He replied, now a little embarrassed because Shuichi was embarrassed.
A nickname????? Just like that?! He tried not to faint then and there to be honest. “S-Shu’s cute too….I thought I was Sachi’s only older brother.” Though, he could see why she might rely on his appearance more so than Shu’s. Then again, Yoshi wasn’t much different. Most of his intimidation came from how tall he was and the way his expression froze into a weird snarl when caught unawares. Everyone expressed their nerves differently after all. Some more visibly than others. Or more normal. He realized he’d been shaking Shu’s hand for a while and quickly pulled back. “A-Anyway, come by. There’s things you can play by yourself as well as with others, unlike board games. And its n-not too loud, at least the bar isn’t.” he added, both wanting to hang out and also wanting to advertise his business.
✉ tag -- ( morita shuichi ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
It was disappointing to have made a mistake, but the conversation itself had been a risk. Yoshi hid his disappointment, tilting his head slightly to the left as he listened to the other guy stutter through a reply. “Ah, t-that’s fine! I-It’s not like it’s a well-known club.” he said waving the pinkette off. Not unless you were part of certain circles anyway. Despite himself, he felt a bit of heat rush to his face as he was asked to explain just what sort of thing when on in the alternative club. Other than going deaf, a dizzying exposure to vastly different musical tastes that were just barely connected to each other, and avoiding drunken brawls? What else did one do at Hysteria that sounded appealing enough to a- a- a normie? Yes, he had definitely approached the wrong type of person for sure, but he didn’t want to scare him off either. He would’ve liked someone wit the same interested but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and people were rarely nice to him.
“Oh y-you know…listen to music…uh…l-…lively discussions on fashion?” Yoshi did his best to word it in a way that sounded just fine and dandy. “The occasional…glass of something alcoholic?? It’s a bar after all.” He averted his eyes for a moment. “It’s where I meet…you know…” he gestured at his hair and tilted his head, the light glinting off his pierced ears a bit. “Goths…but sort of every kind of person hangs in that s-scene.”
“I don’t get to go o-often, since usually night is w-when I mind the arcade instead. Er- my business.” Yoshi added quickly. He tended to get to the place later, and by then more people weren’t sober anymore which really made it hard to socialize when he refused the array of cocktails or shots offered to him. “I-I get being too b-busy to go out though…w-when I was in school I h-had a hard time too.”
✉ tag -- ( morita shuichi ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
Yoshi felt his stomach tighten as he instinctually braced himself for an attack. There’s the initial flare up clear as day, a storm on the horizon and then…as quick as it had appeared it vanished. Despite himself, his core relaxed as the stranger spoke up. He blinked, more confused than cautious now. Yoshi glanced over at the speakers vibrating with the current song. “Not really...” He hadn’t bothered paying attention to the music. He’s impressed he can hear him pretty well over the volume, he still struggled with that without flat out yelling into people’s faces. “Uh…” Wouldn’t he want napkins or…paper towels? He kind of didn’t want to stick around. But maybe he was being judgmental. Then his eyes lit up with understanding. Ooooh! The guy didn’t even know where the bathrooms were. “Sure- Uh-…This way.” He said as he led the stranger over to darker, but somewhat less chaotic section of the club. He could hear the mad giggling and groans of a couple of patrons, but it was far less hectic than right next to the bar or the mob of people in the middle of the dance floor.
The man barely dodges someone trudging out of the boy’s bathroom, wiping spit off their mouth. He pushed open the door with his foot before gently kicking it open and stepping through. The music is a little distant now, but the loud thumping of the bass of the next song is constant. The tempo’s a little faster, and he imagined the chorus of screams meant this was a popular request. “This is the bathroom; third stall is permanently broken.” He said, scratching his head as he looked around for even a single paper towel. Except for the music of the club, he’s quiet for a beat. “Well…I’ll head out then.” He said as he turned around back to Seiichi. "Stay dry?" he asked flashing what he hoped was a friendly grin.
✉ tag -- ( open ) ✎ 000 words ※ fresh outta jokes sorry
He tried to have regular hours at the arcade. Tried being the key word here. He wanted to be there to back up his employees for the shiftier situations the place got into, and those usually happened at night. His intention to be a good boss did not, however, make being called from his office to handle clientele any less nerve wracking or frustrating. But his staff knew him. They knew he wasn’t going to throw someone out on account of he was too weak to. But you know, he was the owner and he got the final say in kicking out most people. So, off he went following a very annoyed employee as she more or less complained about someone drunkenly hogging a very specific machine. One of the newer ones in fact, much to everyone’s displeasure.
Something something ‘being obnoxious’ something something too much to drink. OF course. It wasn’t uncommon for certain patrons to go back and forth between the bar. After all, drunkards spent more money, right? It was the only reason he’d even gone for an alcohol license in the first place. But it came with its detriments. For one, watching a customer sloppily bounce around and somehow keep their vomit in their own stomach.
Yoshi watched for a moment, nodding to the young woman next to him who had, apparently, tried to convince the drunk to move bar to the bar if only to save the machine from the risk of getting thrown up on. Right, ok, he could handle a drunk. He cleared his throat as his employee crossed her arms and waited for the drunk to respond. “Hey, uhh sir. I think it’s time you came with us for a bit. Everyone needs a break in gaming to….hydrate.” he offered trailing off for a moment before looking over at his employee who gave him an encouraging nod. “C’mon, it’s pretty stuffy, right?” He glanced at the screen, squinting at the missed arrows that floated on the screen too quickly for how drunk the man was. "Not even hitting half of these."
✉ tag -- ( Sangster Lee ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
Hysteria was wild. Not that every night club was wild, but Hysteria itself carried an energy that was different to the mainstream. Perhaps more intimidating or perhaps more eclectic. A gathering place for many a member of niche subcultures, and pretty much one of the few places Yoshi could even spot another person sporting leather jackets, chains and heavy eyeliner. But- did it have to be so loud? Even the music was erratic swapping back and forth in genres in an attempt to please every sort of person here. Yoshi could vibe with a song every five tracks at least. But it wasn’t enough to keep him from feeling self-conscious even amongst a sea of like minded ( sorta ) individuals.
It’s especially difficult when he’s sitting in one of the few available bar seats, scouting the crowd for a single sober looking person as he nursed his whiskey glass full of- well- water. He only drank around friends and Yoshi didn’t really have any. Not good ones anyway. Drinking alone just screamed terrible idea, especially for a man that owned his own bar. So, water it was.
And water it had been for what felt like hours now. He wanted to go home and curl up in bed. He could’ve done something more productive like patched up that old cabinet he’d just acquired or look into taking care of a cat. You know, something better than watching strangers get progressively drunker. Tired it was hard to make friends as an adult, and once more regretting the fall out with his last circle of friends, Yoshi stood up taking his water with him. He’d just go home. Maybe goths were just meant to be loners after all. Drunk loners. He turned without another thought, eyes moving to look for the exit. However, his hand smacked against someone’s chest and he barely heard the sound of ice flying and water spilling from his cup onto another clubber. Oh no. The man’s eyebrows knitted together in a classic grimace, annoyed that he’d pull such a rookie mistake. There’s hesitation, especially since one probably wouldn’t be able to hear him clearly in the noise of the club. Still, the last thing he needed is to get thrown across the bar. “Uh…..sorry!” he shouted pulling back his now empty glass. The words were lost in the chords of an electric guitar and the screams of the vocalist. “I didn’t see you! Sorry! I’m in the way!” Which, with the ebbs and flow of the lyrics probably sounded more like ”I…. you….in the way!”
✉ tag -- ( open ) ✎ 000 words ※ come fight the wimp plz
He wasn’t particularly good with conflict. Yoshi still shriveled up at the thought of having to engage in any kind of conflict though physical confrontations were the worst. He didn’t flinch as easily when he was yelled at but the minute a fist was raised, or his clothes were grabbed he withered away on the spot. In fact, he was pretty sure he hired people specifically to deal with sore losers or drunkards. So when he heard yelling and banging on a claw machine as he headed to his office he was very much of the state of mind of ‘let ‘em deal with it’. But when he heard the machine being shaken he grew a little more concerned. It’d be bad for business if someone toppled over that much equipment on themselves, and those machines came with that sort of warning.
He’d read the warnings, or well instruction manuals. The few things he owned that were brand new anyway. Most of his stuff was refurbished and second hand. Stuff he’d cleaned up himself after fishing it out of whatever secondhand dump he’d scouted it in. He had a bit of pride in his work. After all, he’d had to pinch and scrape a lot to make the place seem more decent than its skeezy outward appearance might indicate. Yoshi had taken great pains to make sure anyone could come here even the rival gangs of the city. But he’d avoid thinking too heavily on that. As he stepped towards the claw machines he was already grimacing, eyebrows knit together in disapproval. He began to stand up straighter as he stared at the rowdy customer.
He loomed for a moment, gathering the fortitude to say his next words without stuttering. “There a problem here?” he asked. His words were clipped intentionally. IF he spoke too long he might start jumbling up his words and no one seemed confident, much less any type of authority, when all they could speak was word salad.
He had expected this, the immediate hesitation. After all, it wasn’t like he was a kid anymore. Adults didn’t usually hit each other up in the middle of a mini mart. If this had been a girl it’d be even worse for him. Still, rejection was part of life, right? He just had to be mindful of how uncomfortable he might make other people and make a quick getaway if he was coming across as- well- the usual. After all, Yoshi wasn’t unaware he looked a little- a LOT untrustworthy, but it had it’s benefits. People stayed away and that was better for him and for his nerves. He seemed to perk up as the stranger began to answer him, and he didn’t sound… too stressed out. He’d push a little more then. Though he felt a little out of his depth, pausing at the thought that dressing so businesslike was just ‘throwing stuff on’. He couldn’t help but look down at his disheveled appearance: old pajama pants, a hoodie, brightly colored fuzzy socks in slides. Not the most impressive outfit he’d ever concocted. “Oh- uh-…me too.” He replied. “I-I’m not off though…I head out to work later tonight.”No one cares, Yoshi. He flinched at the terrible follow up.
Ok, ok, bounce back now. His eyes flickered from one of the snacks in the aisle and back to Shuichi as he watched him struggle with his hair. He wondered what kind of job he had that allowed him that? OR maybe he wore a wig?? That’d be a pain, but it was something Yoshi had done once or twice, when he went back to visit his family. “No- you’re fine I mean-…I-I have a tough time with m-my hair too.” He said as he squeeze the long, frizzy blue bush that was his ponytail. No doubt still tangled from a long night of restless sleep. “I think you’re l-lucky though…my hair is only smooth when- um- when I shower.” He said trailing off, a little self-conscious again. He doesn’t know you, Yoshi he doesn’t care. a little voice in his head nagged as he searched for a way to turn the conversation back onto the pinkette. Yoshi snapped to attention once more at the question, fidgeting a little as he tried to phrase his intentions in the least creepy way possible.
“No!” he blurted out trying not to take too long to respond before his mouth clamped shut. Panic blanked out his brain it took him a few seconds to recalibrate. “I- I mean yes? Kinda??” The words fell together like legos finally. Better just get this over with. “I was just uh…wondering if you…” he lowered his voice a little. “Um, do you g-go to that club in Shinjuku? H-Hysteria?” Yoshi then gestured at the salmon locks. “Ya know…c-cause I haven’t seen you around there? But I thought I’d a-ask if you were…uh into that kind of stuff?” His words came out a little faster now, and he seemed a little hopeful. Hysteria, after all, seemed to just be one giant cesspool of people that look wild if not more so than him. The music was always blaring, the black lights were on, people starting fights in the back alleyways. One of the few places Yoshi had spoken to people that just kind of liked dressing up. Though, he had only been lucky twice so far, in finding someone sober enough to gush about leather jackets or decent make up brands.
✉ tag -- ( morita shuichi ) ✎ 000 words ※ hope this ok!!
Self esteem was a journey, Yoshi felt that as much. He would say overall he felt a little happier, a little truer to himself than he did five years ago. But sometimes, that inner voice whispered maliciously in his ears and the faces of his family flashed through his memory so fast it sickened him. Today was one of those days. Cooped up in his little apartment, he’d woken up sweating and panicking before remembering that he lived alone. As a creature that could barely take care of himself, he lived alone. It was better this way, he thought missing the small but temporary pets of his youth. Never his of course, as the moment they acted up or were too noisy for his siblings they’d disappear without a trace. Its late morning, and his stomach growling grounded him.
No more thoughts on the past, only thoughts of food. As Yoshi dragged himself out of bed to change, barely looking at untamed, scruffy blue hair he debated whether he wanted to make himself something or buy something at a convenience store… “Lawson, definitely.” He murmured to himself as he stumbled through his room in an attempt to look decent.
And much like that he stumbled out of his home and stumbled into the mini mart, grabbing a little backset and dumping snacks as well as his breakfast into it. Onigiri was a good, healthy start and a good way to start the day off. It was almost 11, but for Yoshi, who tended to live a rather fickle sleep schedule, it was really early. But good early. A productive kind of early. The kind of early that made him want to try to be a little more social. In the middle of a Lawson?? Yes. If anything went wrong he could pay and leave. Better not. Yoshi decided, immediately doubling back on the idea. Place was empty with maybe a high schooler playing hooky reading dirty mags in the corner. He ambled further, eyeing a few drinks in the corner. Bing bong! His eyes lazily move to look before catching the brief sight of pink hair slowly moving through.
AH, CRAP. The universe was pushing his to socialize. ( More like punishing ). But now he didn’t have any excuses left. Should he though? Then again it was so rare to meet someone during the ay. By the time Yoshi spotted his type of crowd at night they were halfway into their third or fourth drink and not exactly interest in platonic bonding. “Ok…deep breaths Yoshi.” He whispered as he peeled himself away from the corner he had unknowingly tried to hide himself in. God ok! Ok! He patted himself down as if it would magically make him look tidier and slowly made his way towards the beacon of bright hair before they grabbed what they wanted and left. He stood next to them, at first glancing over similar product, jaw clenched tightly, nerves turning his knuckles white as he gripped his basket of goodies very tightly. He opened his mouth attempting a friendly smile in preparation for his greeting, thought it resembled more of a pointed grin. “H-Hey, Shortcake.” He started his voice low and gravely, still groggy from waking up. He was too nervous to try to clear his throat in front of a strange though.
He waited for a moment, suddenly terrified that maybe they wouldn’t get the nickname. “You know like- like Strawberry…Shortcake…” There’s another beat, and Yoshi looks like he’s about to growl something else but in his mind alarm sirens are deafening him to his own panicked thoughts on how BAD of an ice breaker that was. Quick, bounce back! “What business meeting d-did you roll out of?” he continued with the same lopsided grin as he loomed over the other poor soul.
I will make this pretty later but I'm too lazy to find a plotter atm. WEEPS
Lost Highscores Hall
A relatively established arcade that features two stories of cabinet fun as well as a basement bar for alcoholic 'over 20' fun. The arcade is a sort of neutral zone despite the owner's previous ties with the Freeman. As such he tends to keep sensible help that can easily throw out any clientele that seems to get a little too rowdy.
Waiters: run of the mill part timers or full timers that do things like deliver drinks, hand out tokens or cash out prizes. Can also be relegated to passing out flyers in town and putting up advertisements for the arcade.
Bartenders: handle specifically the bar in the basement and ignore any and all strange chatter that their diverse clientele might have.
Security: The muscle specifically intimidating people from causing trouble at the entrance, as well as hanging out in various locations of the arcade to make sure people aren't doing anything elicit. Authority to toss out clients they deem 'too obnoxious' whether its drunks or gang members who can't leave their rivalries outside.
Freeman Initiators
I need like a more in depth section for this but basically everything to do with Hibiki and the group of friends that more or less introduce Yoshi into the Freeman.
Hibiki: Very much a relationship that ended without closure for Yoshi. Incredibly dependent on his friendship with Hibiki, and very much heartbroken over the loss of his friendship. There was definitely a tentative crush once upon of time, but considering how long it's been and how their relationship ended that has long since been buried and abandoned. Definitely a more outgoing, and fearless guy compared to Yoshi. Approached Yoshi out of curiosity. Loyal to a fault, but quick to bristle up when companions are questioned. Yoshi has no idea what happened to him since their fight.
Friend Group: Mainly rallied around Hibiki due to his outgoing nature and charisma. Befriended Yoshi but ultimately sided against him when he voice concerns with continuing their more illegal operations and schemes.
Yoshi has lived most of his life struggling to interact with others and have a conversation that wasn’t centered around schoolwork. Because of this he still struggles with a deep-seated social anxiety and is actually quite the introvert despite the business he runs. Naturally, Yoshi tends to keep these emotions to himself, but his observant almost clingy nature reveals the concerns he keeps when hanging around more friendly acquaintances. His communication skills are still pretty subpar, and he prefers to deflect hard questions with nervous grins and jokes. He can be quite the scaredy cat at times, from ghosts to gang members. He hates anything horror related, although he does like Halloween for the dress up of it all. [break][break]
Unfortunately, due to previous experiences with bullying and a fall out with his closest friends years back, Yoshi has more or less accepted he’s not meant to have meaningful relationships family, friends, or otherwise. He’s even scared of getting a pet for fear they might not care for him and run away. Yoshi will keep his true feelings close to his chest and guards himself against getting too close to others. Still, that doesn’t stop his need to improve. Now that he’s put his focus to something other than academia, he really does want to put in the effort to better himself. Part of that begins with a concocted friendliness that he extends to everyone around him. IF he can, he’ll be the first to offer a lighter perspective or even a little joke. He likes practical joke, although he can’t exactly pull them often, but he supports teenagers eager to get back at positions of authority with light pranks. [break][break]
Despite his grody appearance, Yoshi is still a very well disciplined, hardworking man. It’s no longer to the unhealthy extent that it was before, but he has to be careful not to slip back into those self-destructive habits. Yoshi can be discreet, having tasted a bit of the underbelly of the city he knows when to keep his mouth shut and how to act to deflect suspicion or concern. He looks the other way when it comes to dealings inside his arcade but is quick to butt in when things feel like they’re escalating too quickly. Yoshi carries a bit of nerve, or at least, the appearance that he can. He would be lying if he said his appearance wasn’t 90% of where his confidence comes from. He can bluff a little, but there’s nothing to back it up. He’s shrimpy after all. [break][break]
touching your hand for me is an act of courage,
Yoshi’s childhood is easy enough. He is born into a well to do family in Kyoto, with a path predetermined for himself. There’s little choice left as his older brother and sisters have forged ahead a destiny for him. He takes their hand me downs, which aren’t very many, and is pushed to pursue academics. Even as at the tender age of 6, he was already getting tutored in reading and writing a level above his grade and persuaded to study more advanced math and foreign language. Having already crafted three, perfect students before him Yoshi’s parents have everything down to a meticulous schedule. When, what, and how much he eats. How much sun he should get. The hours he should be studying. The socializing he should be doing. His friends were handpicked from other familiar families or people with good pedigrees. He was encouraged to befriend the people chosen for him, in the hopes that something would spark academic rivalry. Instead the lack of honest connection backfired, isolating him in his youth and making him an easy target of bullying. [break][break]
What could have been a budding, extroverted child was crushed into a small, antisocial little boy. He spoke when spoken to, and his answers were short. He had no interests, only task lists. Life was easy, but it was routine, unfulfilling. Not that he understood that yet. He finds slight solace in video games, sneaking into small arcades and messing around from time to time, but quickly has to cut it off when his mom finds out. After declaring the activity for layabout delinquents, he’s signed up for a cram school instead. [break][break]
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[break][break]
Unlike his siblings, Yoshi escapes to Tokyo University, eagerly abandoning the familiar streets of Kyoto, and more importantly, Kyoto University. There’s no objections though, as the university is still in good standing. He held back a sigh of relief integrating himself into a new city easily enough. [break][break]
But while the scenery changed, Yoshi did not. Scars of his family life plague his subconscious still. He finds it hard to make friends and excuses himself with piling on more and more work onto himself. It’s proactive learning at best, self-sabotaging at worst. There’s nothing to stop the feeling of guilt eating away at his subconscious as he fails to be as productive as he possibly can. But without overbearing parents to constantly dump mor work on him, Yoshi finally has free time. And the anxiety that brings wrecks him. When he’s not worrying about scarfing down instant noodles or scribbling a schedule in a neat, little pocketbook, Yoshi finds him drawn to one of the simpler interests of his youth: arcades. Despite the time sink that it can be, with hours passing in the blink of an eye, the days playing soothe his nerves and offer him somewhat of a break. It felt so nice to be able to turn off his brain for a few hours a day, where even his guilt and his anxiety couldn’t get him there. [break][break]
This is where he meets Hibiki after a few consecutive days of facing off against him on arcade cabinets. After another string of wins and losses when Yoshi gets up to leave quietly, the other boy stops him striking up conversation. Yoshi obliged, and then somehow was dragged along for dinner. It’s unclear why exactly Hibiki ever bothered to speak to him. After all, he was a just a plain student But, it’s all he had, and so Yoshi did his best to appease and to stick close. [break][break]
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Hibiki’s influence on Yoshi is obvious, from darker ways he began to dress to the way he spoke and found himself a little more comfortable around strangers. Though his confidence is brittle, it’s enough for Yoshi’s friend group to grow. Or well, he’s adopted into Hibiki’s. He avoids going home, only returning for the New Year where he hides the small tattoos on his side or trims his hair to a more respectable length and dyes it a respectable color. And when he comes back to Tokyo he’s right back to donning leather jackets and black pants with chains. [break][break]
He’s still a student but his afterschool activities developed more and more. He spends nights going form arcades to drinking with friends and smoking. His meticulous study schedule is traded for all nighters and bouts of procrastination. And he, unknowingly at first, contributes to planning quick scams and small robberies. At first it’s just funny hypotheticals that Yoshi can somehow plan out into decent plans, and then it spirals. Yoshi is not one for fighting but Hibiki promises its safe and he promises he’s protected. Yoshi doesn’t want to disappoint and works as the brains of their little crimes. All the while keeping careful tabs on hiding it from faculty and staying out of the limelight, as it were. [break][break]
Then things go sour quick during what’s supposed to be a usual drug deal. An ambush is set, his friends and him are cornered, and Yoshi sees the glint of a knife in in a dark alleyway. Weight falls on him, and while Hibiki lays on him bleeding with a knife in his chest, his friends move to take down the person responsible and chase away their opponents. Yoshi snaps, cool finally lost. He was always the weakest when it came to this. The smell of blood and the warmth of it makes him sick and despite Hibiki groaning to keep calm he cannot. He demands a hospital but doctors in the ER ask too many questions. The solution isn’t pretty. But Freemen have connections aplenty. All of them sit trembling form adrenaline and panic swirled together as Hibiki’s muffled screams echo through the house. A doctor is paid under the table, and Hibiki is carried home drunk and weak. [break][break]
And when he’s better, Yoshi suggests they stop running with the Freemen. That they cut back on the crime, especially while he was in recovery. It comes across as selfish, self-serving, and callous. It sounds like Yoshi distrusts his friends who had put in so much trust in him. It sounds like he’s not a good friend. And when Hibiki is riled up, so are every other person Yoshi called a friend. He goes home that night with a bloody nose and a broken heart, internalizing every hurtful word he heard. [break][break]
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Graduation is coming quick and Yoshi is more alone that ever. He turns to schoolwork and arcades again to dull his thoughts. He can’t even think about jobs right now. He’s worried about his friend- ex- friends, and his family and his grades and- Before Yoshi can spiral out of control drunk off his grief and really shitty beer, Graduation comes. His friends do not even pay him the courtesy of a congratulations. [break][break]
Despite it all he opted to stay in Tokyo to find a job. And after tiring of job-hunting Yoshi gets a part time to supplement his income. Months go by, and he’s still barely making ends meet. On top of that, the few arcades he frequented shut down, afraid of the gang rivalries on Tokyo streets. And then, he comes up with one last plan. All by himself. Well- by himself and couple of other Freemen. They aren’t his friends, but he promises them a good enough cut if things go as planned. The job? Fencing goods smuggled out of elite, rich homes. It takes some time, meticulous planning, and a lot of information gathering but despite the increased police presence, Yoshi and a few other Freemen make bank on bundles of expensive home goods and jewelry. He divvied up profits, before cutting all ties. [break][break]
With the money he earned, Yoshi invests it all into an arcade in a seedier part of town, but it’s a place where no one asks questions on how a dirty 20 something can afford this much real estate. He renovates, he invests in arcade cabinets, he even gets an alcohol license. Last of all, he invests in muscle to keep the peace inside his establishment and turn away drunk or rowdy gang members. [break][break]
He dubs the establishment, a two story with a basement and bar arcade, Lost Highscores Arcade ( Unfortunately comes from the fact that said owner himself can override high scores with his own )
