AU; ain't no rest for the wicked

[nooses]

i've got bills to pay, i've got mouths to feed
there ain't nothing in this world for free

STARRING:
THOSE BORN INTO FORTUNE - Shintaro Kisaragi. Shinji Ikari.
THOSE CAST OUT BY FORTUNE - Masumi Seki. Monica Campbell. Guy Cecil.

Comments

[maskmaker]

Yet you let it get thwarted by one fat, airheaded blond girl...

[She's just throwing the insults you've thrown at her today]

[truants]

[All right, that's a good comeback.]

It's because pushing a girl off my scooter would look bad on me.

[maskmaker]

You're surprisingly gentlemanly...

[truants]

Your idea of gentlemanly is crap.

[maskmaker]

I keep my standards low so that you'll pass.

[truants]

Oi, you're making me sound like a loser!

[maskmaker]

Aren't you?

[truants]

[Seki looks like he's about to argue against it but winds up shutting his mouth instead.]

... if I say I am, will you let me go?

[maskmaker]

[She peers at him for a moment, curiously, but will slip her arms away from around him, then steps so she can stand next to him.]

No. I won't make you say it, because you aren't.

[truants]

[He lets out a deep sigh as he stands up, rubbing the back of his neck.]

Geez, you're so wishy-washy. Don't tell me that to make me feel better.

[maskmaker]

I'm an enigma. [She smiles at him.] Have I ever said anything I didn't mean just to make you feel better?

[truants]

Nah. [As unwilling as he is to admit it, Monica isn't the sort to beat around the bush with her words.] I guess not.

[Is he really surprised by something that simple? Despite what Monica says, that really is a sign of a remarkable loser.]

Wait here for me, okay?

[maskmaker]

I'll keep guard. Is there anything important in your bike I should watch out for?

[truants]

Uhh... [does he have anything of value lbr] I got some beer, I guess. You can help yourself to those.

[maskmaker]

Don't blame me if they're all gone! [She'll wait here for him sober.]

[truants]

[And the job's done a couple of minutes later! Seki walks out, stretching his arms high above his head.]

Oh, you really did wait.

[maskmaker]

When I say I'll wait, I'm going to wait. Welcome back.

[truants]

I hate to admit it but...

[Hesitation. Then, a soft scoff.]

Whatever. I guess you're the only honest person I know. Thanks.

[maskmaker]

You're welcome. Did it go well?

[truants]

Yup. [He pats his pocket before sitting on his bike.] Got enough to treat both of us to dinner.

[maskmaker]

[She got up to make him space to sit, but she'll hop right back on next to him.] Dinner sounds so great right now. What do you feel up to?

[truants]

[He settles in comfortably, revving the engine to life. He was more than eager for this day to be over.]

... there was this noodle place I used to hang out with this guy I knew. [Surprisingly, he had a friend. Used to, at least.] It wasn't so bad.

[maskmaker]

[There are lots of used to's when it comes to a lifestyle like theirs. Monica wraps her arms around his middle to hold on, chin on his shoulder and glancing at him curiously. But the moment passes.]

I haven't had good noodles in ages. Take me?

[truants]

[Shit happens. That's how it is for people like them. People you don't want to stay, stay, and the people who you don't want to go, go. Seki never had a rosy view of the world, anyway. That sort of idealism was landed you in two places:

1) Out. (Rarely.)

2) Dead. (Almost a guarantee.)

He wouldn't waste away from longing if he killed his thoughts for the future and focused on day-to-day survival. Down here, you've got to find your way to live and sink your teeth and nails into it. Don't ever let it go. Don't even think about changing things, just because some pretty blonde girl's grabbing onto your waist.

So Seki doesn't talk about it. The incident's manageable if he treats it like nothing because shit happens, right?

Right?]

Sure thing. Hang on tight.

[Fucking incredible. Monica's always had a way to upset the depressed zen he's set up for himself. He still has to find out if it's a good or bad thing.

The noodle restaurant in question was a block down from a worn-out high school, where the kids spent more of their time truant than learning. Some of the students were hanging outside, smoking cigarettes and talking tough. Seki glances their way before he holds open the door for Monica.]

You can order whatever you want. Just don't make me broke.

[maskmaker]

[Monica doesn't consider herself to be too different from the rest. She was an odd ball, certainly; people called her that, and she was determined not to get tied down to anything too strongly. Connections become weight. Weight will drag you down when you need to get away and kill you faster than if you lived just to survive. Either way, it was a formulated, boring, pathetic fate that waited for all the kids that wound up here. Seki's hair tickles her face as she holds on to him during the ride, but she presses her face to his shoulder to avoid it and swears that if it came down to it, she would leave him behind and prioritize her own survival.

Sentimentality and self-sacrifice were unnecessary and just a burden around here. She was only with this guy because he provided stimulation -- if the city were an aquarium and she was the fish, he was pump that kept the water turning. Without a current, water turns stale and loses oxygen and suffocates the fish living inside. (Not that he was a lifeline or anything; if this pump broke, she just has to find another one.)

She smiles brightly as walks through the door.]

You were really cool until that last sentence, Seki. You shouldn't admit to your weakness on a date or you'll never wow a girl.

[But the city was a small aquarium, in the end. Their lives won't go like in the movie. Unlike N**o, there was no way to escape outside the glass to go home to the large ocean, and they were destined to die here.]