write me a tragedy

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[eraseiit]

     “ You look familiar ... “

          Yoichi stroked his chin. If it was someone he met before, he’d feel kind of bad forgetting their face. Their name too.

“ Oh ! Were you in that new vampire movie ? “

[rovgefonce]

     < MESSAGE TO: Unknown. >      [10:34 PM] Noire: this is but one of my many hobbies, m8      [10:35 PM] Noire: don’t mess w/a man’s account if ur not prepared for anything      [10:35 PM] Noire: & i mean ANYTHING.      [10:36 PM] Noire: what i just sent is tame, u know

[eraseiit]

     His head tilted a bit and he switched between the oh so wonderful link he had been sent and the chat log. Huh. An interesting guy.

          < MESSAGE FROM: Unknown. >

[10:37 PM] Unknown: it’s all the same to me [10:37 PM] Unknown: I don’t see the appeal 

[eraseiit]

hear me out ... ghibli aus 

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“Is that so?” His expression clearly indicated he was impressed, eyebrows raised, eyes widening ever so slightly and tone piqued with interest. His head tilted thoughtfully to the right, a small hum slipping past his lips. 

“My, that’s quite the occupation.” His tone was mingled with blatant awe, and obvious admiration - as he knew hackers were highly skilled as individuals, warranting deep respect from the detective.

Ah yes, he recalled where he had heard the name before - of course, Yoichi had been spoken of amongst his colleagues, widely received with nothing but praise. 

“I work with the Tokyo PD, as a criminal investigator.” 

[eraseiit]

     Oh dear, he was glad he added the professional part to his words. That could’ve been a real mess.

          “ Ah ! That’s pretty cool. Does that mean you’re on a case right now ? Are they in this building ? “ He could simply be living there too but this was exciting. Or maybe ... Uh oh. Maybe he was here to investigate Yoichi. His eyes went wide but he didn’t voice that out loud. Should he be cautious ? No, that would be suspicious. Good thing he was naturally closed off. 

“ I think I’ve helped you guys out a few times. Always from my room of course. I don’t do cases that involve travel. “ Yoichi wouldn’t have recognized Hien either way. He rarely, if ever, saw any of the investigators he’d cooperated with in person. The chances were very slim.

[kanemochii]

I don’t care about appearances, if that’s what you think sitting on the other side of the building will solve.

[ He rolled his eyes. ]

I care about people not being disappointed even though I explicitly say–all the time–that it’s going to be disappointing.

[ He paused for a moment then let out a sigh. ]

Okay, look. I’ll go with you to the shitty restaurant. Hell, I’ll even pay for you, no questions asked. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.

[eraseiit]

     “ Eeeeh ? Seriously ? “

          How could he say no to free food ? Although sharing it with someone as ... dreary as this would probably kill the mood. A lot.

“ Then what are we waiting for ! Lets go ! “

[skyiscalling]

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With a nod, Hien shuffled off to the kitchen - where the pan full of burnt food sat in the sink accusingly - which he disregarded, noting to clean it up later, as he fixed his guest a tall glass of water before returning, holding it out the other to take. 

He sat down across from him, leaning back into the couch - head tilted, posture indicative of his piqued curiosity. He was determined to find out where he had heard that name before, and whether or not it held a good or bad connotation.

“So, Yoichi. Mind if I bombard you with some questions? Do feel free to do the same to me.” 

There’s a pause, waiting for given permission before continuing onwards.

“Tell me about yourself, what do you do for a living?” 

[eraseiit]

     “ I’m a hacker ! “ The words were out before Yoichi could stop himself. A chill ran through his body, but it was better to explain. Didn’t want any strange ideas. “ I get paid to hack into security systems and find their weaknesses. “

          Yoichi was well known in Japan, but the man did mention he was a foreigner. He wouldn’t surprised if he didn’t know him. 

Anything else was probably ... too much. The hacker didn’t trust people easily, and even getting his occupation out was a feat. More like, he was too excited to stay quiet. Oh well, it wouldn’t hurt him any. Hien probably could’ve looked up his name later and seen he was a hacker anyway. No need to lie, especially if they were going to be neighbours.

     “ What about you, if I can ask ? “

[eraseiit]

     Yoichi scratched at his temple, staring intently at the page in front of him. The book was old, bound with leather and covered in the scent of dust. He usually avoided the library at all costs; most of his information could be find in some dark recess of the internet.

          Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t find it anywhere.

Due to his ... dislike of the library, he didn’t have a card, and thus he was in this predicament. He needed the information to further one of his jobs and therefore couldn’t avoid it. That didn’t mean he had to like it, however, and kept throwing a few glances around the large expanse of space. Public places like this made him nervous; at least it was the library and not a crowded shopping center.

    The sound of footsteps caught him off guard, and his entire body went rigid. Not because he was scared, of course not ! [ That was mostly the reason. ] 

[skyiscalling]

[eraseiit]

     “Hackers know the code to your heart! … Or something like that.”

[dctachment-archive-deactivated2]

“Hee-an. May I return the same question to you? Forgive me, as my Japanese is a bit rusty. I’m a foreigner, you see.”

It was rare for him to disclose personal information and such honesty at that, even if it were in basic terms - but Yoichi was his neighbour, another citizen he served to protect, there was no need for deception, he determined, for now.

A patient nod was given in response as he cracked open the door wider, patiently waiting for Yoichi’s return. Once he did, he gestured for him to come in - shutting the door behind him and making his way further into the apartment.

The space was minimalist in nature, well-kept, and arguably even boring. Hien moved to crack open the window, wrinkling his nose in disdain at the lingering scent of smoke.

“Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”

[eraseiit]

     “ Yo - ee - chi ! The last name isn’t important ! “

          His eyes scanned the room. It was plain and pretty simple, a sharp contrast to his own apartment. Things weren’t cluttered but the walls had barely any white space left to occupy. Yoichi didn’t understand how people could live without that splash of colour but then again others were normal.

The man sat down, the movement sharp and swift. A faint smell of smoke hang in the air but that was to be expected after burning your food. His nose twitched a little at his sniffing.

     “ Oh ! “ The chances of him having his favourite beverage was very, very low. “ Water is fine with me. “ Coffee didn’t taste good black in his opinion.

[dctachment-archive-deactivated2]

Any tension built up within his shoulders ceased as he offered Yoichi a polite nod, his formely sheepish smile taking on a more practical, kind apperance. 

Yoichi Suzumura. 

Hm. He had heard that name before, however he couldn’t recall where from. 

“Well, it is a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Hien, Hien Ngoc." 

Yoichi seemed kind enough. Hien wouldn’t completely let his guard down yet, he was always overtly cautious. 

However, he seemed harmless enough. "Please, I’m going to have to insist. I mean, I could have burnt down the place.”

[eraseiit]

     “ That’s a cool name ! Can I ask how to pronounce it ? I don’t want to get it wrong. “

          A good conversation starter. Once Yoichi heard it a few times he’d be good to go. He couldn’t say he’d heard the name before, even in his adventures in the hacking world. 

Yoichi was more than a little nervous about accepting the invitation but he figured it would be best to do so. Meeting a neighbour under such circumstances would, hopefully, never happen again. 

     No burnt down apartment, please.

          “ Let me close my door and I’ll be right over. “ The man offered a wave of his hand before trotting down the hall to slide it shut. His computer should be fine; it’ll just go into sleep mode anyway. 

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“Yes, I’m fine, thank you.” To say he was mortified would be a severe understatement. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, surpressing the urge to shut the door, retreat to his room, flop onto his bed, burrow within the sheets and never re-emerge.

“Thankfully, I got it under control..” The corners of his lips quirked upwards a little bit, enough to display a small, apologetic smile. “Christ, I must have woken you. I’m real sorry. I’m normally not this stupid. I take it you are from next door? Please let me make this up to you.”

[eraseiit]

     “ No worries. I’m usually up around this time anyway. “

          The stranger didn’t seem malicious. Yoichi got a very tranquil vibe from him, and thus hoped he could act a bit on the calmer side. He didn’t want to scare away a new neighbour. Making friends was easy for him, and his intentions were to avoid making an enemy.

“ You’re the first person to move here in nearly a year. This floor isn’t usually chosen for occupation. “

     Which may or may not be his doing but no matter.

          Even with a potential fire, Yoichi was excited to meet him.

“ My name is Yoichi Suzumura. Pleasure to meet you ! You don’t have to worry about making it up to me, I promise. “

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The sound of knuckles rapping against his door startled him - gaze averting briefly from the pan ablaze - oh no. please, God no. He hasn’t introduced himself to any of his neighbors, and this was certaintly not the way he wanted any first meeting to go.

“One second!” He hollered back in response above the alarm, kicking himself into action as he scrambled about - baking soda, baking soda, baking soda, where the hell is the baking soda?

After an inital moment of panic, he managed to fish out the small box from the cabinet - dumping the entirety of the product onto the pan. The flames promptly vanished - evoking a small, victorious cheer from him. Oh right. The person at the door. He should answer that.

Hesistantly, he shuffled to the door - sucking in a breath before cracking it open. The remaining smoke drifted through, and his expression was one of sheepishness. Everything about this was absolutely undignified, it killed him.

[eraseiit]

     Hmm ... Should he be a bit worried ? Whoever was in there sounded like they were having trouble, and not the good kind.

          [ What trouble is good, Yoichi ? ]

He shuffled awkwardly for a moment, bouncing on his heels. His door was still hanging open and he didn’t have a single clue whether this was an actual fire or not. Yoichi’s gaze flicked nervously between his phone and the door. Hopefully whoever was inside was alright ?

     “ Um ! Hel-- “

          The words were cut off by the soft creeeak the door made.

“ Oh ! Thank goodness you’re alright. “ A sigh of relief followed suit.

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@eraseiit

– 

the shrill wail of the firealarm mercilessly disrupted the tranquility of the evening, a welcoming sound at 3AM for the neighbors – the sound carrying itself through the thin walls of the apartment. as the smoke continued to billow from the pan, hien took a brief moment out of the situation to bury his face into his hands and restrain himself from releasing the scream nestled in the back of his throat. instead of an additional screech to join alongside the shrieking alarm, hien released a series of muffled whines through his fingers. the poor man had simply just wanted something to eat. that request had proven to be too much. not even a month in his new living space in tokyo, and he was already burning it down. right… he ought to do something about this. then again if the place did go up in flames, nothing would prevent him from thinking, “serves you right, idiot.”

[eraseiit]

     Yoichi was mid-noodle when he heard the fire alarm go off. A brief moment of “ is that mine ” went through his head, but the sound was too distant to be his own. Even so, that didn’t mean he was clear of danger, and the hacker immediately jumped to his feet. 

          In all honesty, he was more concerned for his erasers.

A flurry of movement and Yoichi nearly dropped his bowl on his computer. Now that would’ve been a disaster. The hacker struggled to put on a sock before running out of his room. Further examination offered that yes, it was his neighbour’s apartment, and he hurried to grab his phone.

     Not many people lived on this floor, and Yoichi didn’t even know he had a neighbour. He nearly fell sliding down the hall and quickly knocked on the door.

          “ Hello ! Is anyone in there ! “

[kanemochii]

There’s a restaurant down the street from the new one you wanted to go to.

Kinda pricey, but I’d rather blow a shit ton of money than get food poisoning. Just saying.

[eraseiit]

     “ But this one is new. I’ll sit on the opposite side of the building if that’s what you want. “

[rovgefonce]

     < MESSAGE TO: Unknown. >      [10:32 PM] Noire: i gotta great way for u to kill time then      < NOIRE sent a link. >

     Contained in that link was a particularly raunchy and slightly unsettling porn site. Let us not question why Lewis knew of such a website, but rather how much specific searching it must have taken to find it. If this mysterious perpetrator was going to screw with him, Lewis was going to return the favor tenfold. He grinned smugly to himself and leaned back in his chair as he awaited the hacker’s next message.

[eraseiit]

     Eh ? Was that porn ? Why did that man look like that ...

          < MESSAGE FROM: Unknown. >

[10:34 PM] Unknown: I think you need to branch out in your hobbies