hantale | Ryslig | IC Network Contact

That's right.

Story was, if I toed the line, he'd help get me back into the business. I could pay my brother back.

[ He made surprisingly neat work of the pumpkin, chopping it into even squares. What knifework! ]

You know anything about racketeering?

[ For a moment their eyebrow raises, not having heard that phrase before. Toe the line? It seems intuitive enough. Once all the vegetables were peeled, they began chopping, carefully at first, but not bothering to make the sections too neat. Approximations of bite-sized chunks to contrast Majima's neat squares. ]

Not really... I don't think it's really come up to me before.
What did you owe your brother?

Everything.

[ He cleaned off the blade of the knife, looking for something else to do with his hands. Well, that wasn't all that helpful. ]

I was supposed to back him up on a job, but I got called off at the last second. I never did get to find out exactly what went down, but he ended up facin' off eighteen guys all on his own.

So now he's in prison, and I'm here. In a whole-ass new dimension.

[ Majima gave Fran a wry smile. ]

Sorry, uh. Seems like I should start at the beginning, but I ain't even sure where that is. There anything else I can... chop?

[ Fran dips back, checking beneath the counter for something else Majima can.... chop.

Half a celery is placed before him, the other half presumably already used for some other meal. ]

Fine slices for that, if you can!

[ In the meantime, they can get a smaller stock pot out and start working on the actual veggie stew. Very basic food, but it's hearty and tasty. ]

I think I see what you mean. So you worked for this man to try and make up for not helping your brother?

[ Part of them doesn't quite get it, and that's clear in their tone. But they want to. There's a lot to cover.]

[ Of course. Fran's world was pretty different from 1980's Japan. ]

Yeah. Alright, let's back this all the way up.

[ Celery was oddly comforting to slice -- concrete, crisp. The dip of the knife worked away at the stalk. ]

They got the mob where you're from? Mafia?

Right-

[ Their head bobs, sprinkling some salt into the pot and then leaning back to face Majima. Most of the prep-work is done, stew is a good slow meal. ]

Mafia? [ Doesn't sound like it. ] I'm not sure... I only really learned about their cities from travelers.

[ It's going to be a long story, at this rate. Good thing they have all night, right?]

[ Good, indeed. Although even if Fran only got the broad strokes, he figured that'd be more than enough. After all, what use was all this information now that they were stuck in Ryslig? ]

Alright. It's a type of criminal organization.

In theory, a local organized mob's better to have around than a bunch of loose cannons, or criminals imported from somewhere else. Because they have roots in the community, a stake. Of course, the police don't see it that way -- they still commit crimes.

Anyway, I was part of my hometown's mafia. Debt collection, protecting territory, that kinda thing.

[ The stew sure did smell nice. ]

Right-... Better the criminals you know than the ones you don't?

[ It made sense maybe? Fran wasn't incredibly familiar with how cities and towns tended to work with stuff like that. There's a few things that confuse them though, and it shows in the odd look he gets. ]

Not to interrupt but... Aren't those all things you could do legally?

[ It'll smell even better when Fran puts the rest of the aromatics in. The celery, onion, and carrots, prompting a light sizzle followed by the stock and spices. ]

Okay, but we did it illegally. Y'know, by beating people up if they took out a bunch of cash and didn't pay up up.

[ Look Fran, stop telling him he didn't do crimes! He did!! Big crimes!! ]

I was good with my fists, so I fit right in. At least until orders came down for my brother and I to pull off a hit. We were supposed to kill a big crime guy from a different family.

Ah, I see...

[ It's kind of clear they don't, not fully at least. But they get enough to move on. ]

So, you were part of this organized crime group? And they asked you to do something very difficult?

Right. Two guys, me and him, against the chairman of the Ueno Seiwa clan and seventeen of his guys.

[ Two against eighteen, not spectacular odds. One of the reasons Majima had been somewhat uneasy about the task. ]

Even if we managed to pull it off, best case we'd be in prison for life once the cops got hold of us. That's if we avoided the death sentence.

[ And how bitter that memory was now, given what had happened. ]

[ Fran nods, the weight of the names not reaching them, but the way he says it conveys what he's trying to describe. It was something big, and difficult. Something most folks would call impossible. ]

And you both survived?

[ That alone would be impressive enough. ]

I was on my way to our meetin' point before one of the suits grabbed me aside. Told me the hit was canceled at the last minute. But no one'd told him that; too late to reach him by phone. Couldn't just leave him, either... so I disobeyed orders trying to get to Saejima before it all went down.

[ Majima shook his head. ]

They chained me down like a dog and made sure I never got there to help.

[ Those celery bits were looking very well chopped at this point. ]

He survived. Took down all eighteen of them on his own, don't ask me how.

[ Hmmm, it's hard to hide the disapproving frown on Fran's lips. Not for Majima, but for the situation he was put in. Not pleasant in the slightest. Still, the fact that he survived was impressive! Their lips open, about to ask the very question Majima pre-empted.

Oh. Alright, then they won't ask. Fran steps over to his side, gently gesturing for him to stop cutting so they can scoop the celery up and drop it into the pot to sizzle. ]

So... He was arrested then, I take it? Why did you need to repay him?

Because I wasn't there. [ Majima said, like this was a given. Like he wouldn't have had to even explain it if Fran wasn't from magical multiverse land. ]

I couldn't help him.

[ In fact he was saying all of this right now like it was a given? Not being able to help his brother was 100% a hard mental equivalent to stabbing Saejima in the back, but look -- at least he'd planned to die to make up for it. ]

We should've both been here when the cops showed up. I'm the one who didn't make it.

[ He talked like everything was obvious and made sense, but of course, not everyone sees the world through the same lense, especially the kelpie beside him.

Fran busies about the kitchen for a bit, preparing some spices and herbs and then pouring some stock into the pot and setting it to simmer for a bit. ]

Mmmh- I don't quite get it yet. Wasn't it the other people that stopped you from going? Why is that your fault?

[ Logically, sure... But they were aware things didn't always work that way with most people. Eventually, Fran shakes their head, eager to move on to a likely less sore point. ]

So you worked for them for a while, doing all manner of things?

[ Quite honestly, even people from Majima's world wouldn't really understand his thought process at times. ]

That ain't an excuse. [ NO EXCUSES, IN FACT. ] I still shoulda been there.

I don't know how much he's heard about what went down -- probably not a lot. Dudes on death row ain't exactly get to sit down with an evenin' drink to watch the nightly news.

But yeah, I worked for the Omi for a while. Hated it. Took about two years of that, and then the whole damn mess got turned upside down over some real estate deal. Long story, but the short version is that just before I ended up in Ryslig, I was a free man.

You're pretty handy with that stock.

[ Fran's beginning to expect he'd say the same had he been half-dead and unable to move. No excuses indeed. ]

Mm- I think I get it. Would you consider yourself free, living here? I know it's not what most people consider ideal, but...

[ Soft lips curl, nodding once to the statement. ]

I like making soups and stews... They're tasty, and make the house smell nice! It's been fun learning about cooking since I've been here~

[ Because you know, they pretty much didn't before. With everything settled and ready to stew, they set the lid over it and walk back over to sit beside Majima again. ]

Not particularly. We ain't free to leave, are we? And havin' to feed off people ain't so hot, either.

[ Although what he'd really hated was finding people without their eyes, without their arms and kidneys and horns, bleeding pitifully out in cramped, dirty alleys. The Fog God could suck it, tbh. ]

Ya didn't cook before you came here? At all?

Mhm... A cage is still a cage, no matter how big?

[ Fran could at least relate to the poacher incident. It had left them a bit more scared than usual. How much that had to do with the fog was anyone's guess. As per usual, it seemed people were the real monsters. ]

Not really... I've eaten cooked food before, but I mostly just had fruits and loose vegetables. Food comes plentifully when you work with nature, after all.

[ Something something, Magic. ]

Something like that. Although in this case, it ain't even that big. Water on all sides, 'cept for the mountains. And I hear no one's been able to get over those.

[ It seemed Majima was looking once more for something to do; maybe he could find some dishes in the sink and start doing them. ]

What'd you do in wintertime? Move to someplace warmer?

I'll take a few hundred miles over a couple, at least.

[ It was better than being cramped in the city, as far as Fran was concerned. If he was looking for things to do, the chopping boards and knives needed cleaning, at least. Fran ran a surprisingly clean ship, for a wild-child. That and most scraps could be fed to Magcat. ]

The cold didn't really bother me that much... and I ate more for pleasure than for necessity, much like we do now. So, whatever winter fruits I could grow.

That and traveling towards warmer areas!

Japan's about 3,000 km, and it's a small country. But ya could fly anywhere in it, or sail. The food was great, too -- no disrespect to Korra-han or anythin', but it was worlds apart.

[ Frankly, he missed it. He listened to Fran, however, as he cleaned. ]

Sounds like a blast.

Mhm- Not the same, by any means. I wouldn't mind trying some again, but it seems getting the food here is difficult.

[ It's been... Some time since that little foodie event, hasn't it? With the food slowly simmering away, Fran can pull out a small stool and get comfy on it. It seems most of their furniture has shifted to backless stuff. The couch is still there, of course, but an assortment of pillows have been added. ]

It was alright. I was almost always traveling, anyway, so it worked out. Did you get to explore much, in Japan?

Right, can't just go down to the corner store and get some mirin. I get by makin' substitutes, but it ain't quite the same.

[ Alas. ]

And sure, I knew Kamurocho like the back of my hand. Usually took the rail if I wanted to get somewhere, but it was easy to hop in a taxi if I wanted to go see the ocean or somethin'. I was thinkin' if I ever went back, maybe I'd make it all the way out to the ends, ya know?

Up north to Hokkaido, maybe. Or down to Okinawa and see some cats.

Ryslig | IC Network Contact

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Ah! How did so many days pass? Sorry!

no worries!

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good place to wrap?

Good wrap!

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