Post by Takeda on Jan 13, 2014 12:16:13 GMT -5
Little more than street lamps and brightly lit neon signs managed to illuminate the lonely Mimoza Corner street on which Manga-Max reared it's ugly head. A few windows shone with the inner light of apartments on the upper floors of some of the businesses, but one found itself slightly off-colored...and that was the one that Takeda and Seiji found themselves stuck in. It was midnight, the beginning of the lone clerk's only off day of the week. Unfortunately, it was also only a day after the duo had faced down the poor man's version of Sky-Net in the lobby of an abandoned skyscraper. Laying lazily upon the couch, the elder of the two siblings found himself staring up at the off-white ceiling of the apartment, incapable of sleeping after the day before. Poison had wracked his body with unprecedented amounts of pain, fire had burnt up his favorite jacket, and he was pretty sure that the stab wound he suffered in the fight still tingled every now and then with little throbs of pain. In truth, he also found himself quite angry that out of all of the three, he was the one that took the most damage...hell, it was hard to keep from feeling like dead weight. One could not dwell on such things forever, as there was a more pressing matter at hand...it was, by definition, the beginning of his off-day, and there was nothing at all to do. Well, he was hungry, so that was a start...but, he felt as if Seiji would most likely be asleep. Slowly, he brought himself into a sitting position, and turned on the television. The same god damned thing every day...old reality television shows showcasing some redneck family doing something or other on the American channels that were available, more accursed anime, and then, the news.
"Tonight at twelve, reports of missing persons seem to be flooding police stations, with no identifiable reason as to why. Now, a special on what liquid in your popcorn could kill you, and it's non-dairy-" Takeda turned off the television after seeing there was nothing on...well, nothing new. Ever since the quarantine, there had been reports of people going missing now and then, but nobody ever seemed to do anything about it at all. It was as if everyone just wanted to carry on their daily business, completely oblivious to what was occurring outside the city's newly constructed walls...ignorance truly had to be bliss. Leaning over slightly, he placed a hand on the place the shadow had injected him, feeling for scar tissue, whilst looking at the table. The night before, the two hadn't been exactly in the mood to play video games or pass the time...they were instead a bit proud of themselves for having destroyed the shadow, and fell asleep in their respective spots almost immediately, so the controllers weren't strewn about like usual. After a bit, he determined that the stranger's spell had the same mechanics as his own, healing up a wound instantly. It was after this revelation that he arose from the couch and kicked aside a few beer cans, moving through the crowded apartment with all the grace of a drunken elephant. Opening up the mini-fridge, he found that there was absolutely nothing to eat other than maybe the moldy remnants of what appeared to be a discount lobster. Shutting the door, he moved past Seiji's cot, and into the bathroom. You could really tell that it had been a rough night for him. His eyes were actually clear for once, devoid of the typical bloodshot look due to his limited consumption of alcohol over the past few days, and his hair was an utter mess.
After a brief shower, Takeda dressed himself in his typical garb, or rather what remained of it after years of wearing nearly the same things every day. A clean shirt and jeans were all he had taken off the line a night or so back, so they were the default. Emerging from the bathroom, fully dressed, he moved to grab his shoes from the couch. After doing so, he leaned back in the chair, before picking through an ash-tray nearby for un-smoked cigarettes. Finding one, he lit it up with a nearby lighter before speaking out, hoping to wake up Seiji. "Hey! Get up, we're goin' to get something to eat!" Now, midnight wasn't exactly the time that most people would choose to go and get their take-out, but Takeda was hungry, bored, and figured that he could visit the liquor store on the way. Taking a deep drag off the already half-smoked cigarette, he stood up, knowing that Seiji would most likely be woken up by him yelling. As part of his routine before leaving, he checked the bathroom to ensure that the medicine cabinet was secured, and then stepped out of the door, knowing that the kid would lock up when he left. Part of him just wanted to get out of the apartment, from Manga-Max, from the whole god damned city. He would have to take solace that he could at least leave two of them behind at the moment. Heading down the steps, he left via the shop's back door, only to lean against the red brick that comprised the downright bootleg place in which he worked. Takeda was in a hurry to go somewhere, anywhere but where he was, and even he didn't have the slightest clue as to why. Maybe to leave behind the grungy life-style that he and Seiji had to adopt just to make ends meet, or just to forget about the situation outside the walls for one day.
Only the moon and a few scattered neon signs illuminated the alley, reminding Takeda both of one of his early works, and of where he wished he was at the moment..."I'd kill for a pint right about now."
"Tonight at twelve, reports of missing persons seem to be flooding police stations, with no identifiable reason as to why. Now, a special on what liquid in your popcorn could kill you, and it's non-dairy-" Takeda turned off the television after seeing there was nothing on...well, nothing new. Ever since the quarantine, there had been reports of people going missing now and then, but nobody ever seemed to do anything about it at all. It was as if everyone just wanted to carry on their daily business, completely oblivious to what was occurring outside the city's newly constructed walls...ignorance truly had to be bliss. Leaning over slightly, he placed a hand on the place the shadow had injected him, feeling for scar tissue, whilst looking at the table. The night before, the two hadn't been exactly in the mood to play video games or pass the time...they were instead a bit proud of themselves for having destroyed the shadow, and fell asleep in their respective spots almost immediately, so the controllers weren't strewn about like usual. After a bit, he determined that the stranger's spell had the same mechanics as his own, healing up a wound instantly. It was after this revelation that he arose from the couch and kicked aside a few beer cans, moving through the crowded apartment with all the grace of a drunken elephant. Opening up the mini-fridge, he found that there was absolutely nothing to eat other than maybe the moldy remnants of what appeared to be a discount lobster. Shutting the door, he moved past Seiji's cot, and into the bathroom. You could really tell that it had been a rough night for him. His eyes were actually clear for once, devoid of the typical bloodshot look due to his limited consumption of alcohol over the past few days, and his hair was an utter mess.
After a brief shower, Takeda dressed himself in his typical garb, or rather what remained of it after years of wearing nearly the same things every day. A clean shirt and jeans were all he had taken off the line a night or so back, so they were the default. Emerging from the bathroom, fully dressed, he moved to grab his shoes from the couch. After doing so, he leaned back in the chair, before picking through an ash-tray nearby for un-smoked cigarettes. Finding one, he lit it up with a nearby lighter before speaking out, hoping to wake up Seiji. "Hey! Get up, we're goin' to get something to eat!" Now, midnight wasn't exactly the time that most people would choose to go and get their take-out, but Takeda was hungry, bored, and figured that he could visit the liquor store on the way. Taking a deep drag off the already half-smoked cigarette, he stood up, knowing that Seiji would most likely be woken up by him yelling. As part of his routine before leaving, he checked the bathroom to ensure that the medicine cabinet was secured, and then stepped out of the door, knowing that the kid would lock up when he left. Part of him just wanted to get out of the apartment, from Manga-Max, from the whole god damned city. He would have to take solace that he could at least leave two of them behind at the moment. Heading down the steps, he left via the shop's back door, only to lean against the red brick that comprised the downright bootleg place in which he worked. Takeda was in a hurry to go somewhere, anywhere but where he was, and even he didn't have the slightest clue as to why. Maybe to leave behind the grungy life-style that he and Seiji had to adopt just to make ends meet, or just to forget about the situation outside the walls for one day.
Only the moon and a few scattered neon signs illuminated the alley, reminding Takeda both of one of his early works, and of where he wished he was at the moment..."I'd kill for a pint right about now."