...could use an update.

application info! affiliated with unionem

[visravana]

✠ what's left

[visravana]

This person… truly had a sympathetic soul. She could add that it was a tad exaggerated, but she didn’t blame them for it at all. It was the thought that mattered in the end, right? What kind of a god would she be if she were to neglect such effort? Besides, it was rare to find people like them in the first place.

"It’s alright. I had not expected for anyone to notice me, anyway." Only when a person squinted their eyes or were close enough around her presence may have been able to see her by chance, but it was most unlikely. Being briefly seen and forgotten immediately by others was a habit she was accustomed to by mortals.

Ah! Come to think of it, weren’t they going somewhere? After all, there wouldn’t be any reason as to why they came out here if they didn’t have a purpose. Unless, it was really just to get some fresh air. There was a lot to take in at the moment, so she would’ve understood either way. "Were you planning to go somewhere? Since it seems as though I’ve interrupted your routine…"

[galacks]

"Going somewhere? Oh--I was only headed back to my apartment..."

Rui looked down at his feet and held his bag with both hands. On top of tuning out of his surroundings minutes earlier, he had gone out to see what the city had to offer, though it had been disappointing with all of the fighting that had came with most citizens' arrival. More to the point, Rui had at least found a few cute dresses that he liked. But that was embarrassing, too! To appear so materialistic in front of a deity...

But, yes, he was probably overreacting. Rui willed his shoulders to relax.

"I'd offer to take you somewhere, however... if you're still on the job, we could look around some other time."

[kxmishiro-deactivated20150114]

（。-＿-。）

[kxmishiro-deactivated20150114]

From the looks of it, the customer isn’t too unusual, and an internal sigh of relief is given as she doesn’t go out of her way to be troublesome. Rize’s eyes take in the cute pattern for a moment and her expression changes into something that feels more sympathetic from before, turning on her heel as she makes their way to the counter before turning back once again, a smile painted across her lips.

"It’s fine, there’s no need to apologize. Actually this is my first day on the job, so I’m not quite sure what kind of penalty I might get myself, but I’m sure our customer’s happiness is what comes first." And besides that, if employment of some kind is mandatory, can they really afford to fire her penalize her in any situation? It’s food for thought, and maybe something she’ll wind up putting to the test shortly. "—Here, clean up with these."

In her hand is a small stack of paper towels, and she offers them with a smile before tacking on one last word of note. “If it’s too stained, you can give me your size and I’m sure it would be fine to lend you one of the spare uniforms we have in the back until you get something new.” A pause… “I can come with you, and we can have it back before closing.”

And coffee does stain quite easily, iced or not, so now all she can do is cross her fingers.

[galacks]

Rui knew within a few moments that wiping his dress with the paper towels would do him no good, and if he overdid it, he'd only get it riddled with those little flakes of paper that came off when you pressed too hard. They crumpled in his hands as he offered Rize another, more apologetic smile.

"If it wouldn't be a bother, I'll take you up on the offer."

To have his coord ruined within a few hours of putting it on was disheartening--a lot of thought goes into his clothes, he'd have you know--but Rui also thought the uniforms were a bit cute; at least, it wouldn't be such an awful solution. He'd seen worse outfits that poor employees had been forced into. 

"I'm, um... a small..." In women's, yes, but that was a little embarrassing to admit. He supposed some girls would've liked to be as petite as he was, but seeing as, well... he wasn't really a girl...  

To steer the conversation away from his body, Rui offered another cheerful dialog: "Whatever happens, I hope the consequences aren't too bad."

[kxmishiro-deactivated20150114]

（。-＿-。）

Having a job, in theory, sounds absolutely tedious — and on many levels, it is. Time that could be spent exploring this new city are instead cooped up in a small cafe, and unable to drink the coffee unless she wishes to get lectured by her superiors, (What a pain,) the day passes by watching people from all walks of life cycle in and out. A few cute potential snacks are spotted, some interesting stories are heard, but nothing that strikes her as exceptional seems to occur. By the time even one hour has passed the ghoul finds herself more and more distracted as she brings drinks from table to table.

This inattention is likely the cause of her downfall when it happens. A wayward glance out the window to the fresh summer sun, feeling so far away, is all that it takes for her to slip up. Almost stepping on someone’s toes as she neglects to watch where she walks, she quickly realizes that the drink is no longer in her grasp. Before contact can even be made her hands draw away from the cup to cover her mouth, short gasp escaping her throat.

"I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention and the cup just slipped out of my hand." One of which draws away from her face to wave towards another staff member, "Another iced coffee, please!" The cleanup escapes her immediate attention, never having been her forte, and in a moment she’s turned back to the poor customer she’d poured the first drink all over. As she glances between the stranger and the direction they seem to have come from a course of action is decided on, and beckons the other to come with her.

"Please follow me, we have some cloths and paper towels in the back." Or, if it turns out unsalvageable, she’s sure her manager won’t mind a missing uniform for a day — Rize certainly doesn’t care.

[galacks]

Rui bowed his head and silently chastised himself for deciding to wear one of his favorite, summery dresses; he had a gut feeling that he'd get a stain on it, but there couldn't have been a pettier thing to get upset over. Instead, he stood and smiled at Rize with an air of confidence about him. No reason to get all dressed up if you weren't going to own it, stain or no stain.

X was saved from any spill, and Rui tucked his tablet away in his handbag--this one was designer. 

"It's not a problem. I'm not mad, it's just so disappointing when you mess up a print you like, you know?"

Rui suspected nothing of Rize, deciding that for once he didn't have to come across as some superficial stick-in-the-mud, heels clicking as he strode behind her. Maybe not the best decision to make, but it afforded him spending a day not feeling bored with the city around him... at the cost of almost, or successfully getting eaten. Well... new experiences!

"And I'll cover the cost of the other coffee, too, it's no trouble. I'd feel bad if it'd have to be taken out of your check, or something else a boss would do... ah, sorry if I'm rambling."

Trying to come across as amicable was harder than he thought.

[my-74]

ガッチャマンクラウズより爾乃美家累君

[visravana]

✠ what's left

[visravana]

Ah, what a relief to see them not be overworked by this. It would have been a guilt trip for her to see a devastating person from something that wasn’t part of their daily routine. How dreadful would that be.

"Even though your compliment is acknowledged, I still have yet to achieve anything."

A nod was given at Rui, keeping in mind of their standing offer. If she had to be honest, it did sound nice to have other company around her. Sometimes it became awfully lonely during her work hours, but working wasn’t meant for filling up personal voids. "I would appreciate that."

Ah- so she knew as well? It wasn’t much of a surprise, considering she was rather well known, but for a believer to actually see her was something else. "In regards to your response, I am in fact that deity you speak of."

[galacks]

This was... well, this was a bit unprecedented. Rui had studied a number of religions, from Christianity to Islam, but he couldn't recall having to learn how to act around a... a... a goddess? A real one?

He'd find claiming to be a god far-fetched if he hadn't... well, if an alien hadn't extracted a notebook from his chest all of those years ago. But thinking about Katze was something he never wanted to do, especially now that the alien seemed to have not followed him into Hydread. 

"Oh... that's... uh... forgive me!" He bowed again. "I wasn't aware... that's incredible."

But now having to acknowledge that whoever brought them to this city could also pull gods here as well... just how much influence would you have to have? How troubling.

[galacks]

in-n-outing [maizono]

One of the benefits of staying in a new place were the new experiences. That was just common sense. However, Rui wasn't sure if exploring a block teeming with fast food restaurants he'd never heard of before in the early evening was counted as a 'good' experience. Probably, why not.

"Which one is the best?"

"That would be a subjective question. Are you asking for reviews on the surrounding restaurants?"

Rui would've said "tell me objectively" if it didn't seem like such a stupid command. Instead, he gave in and said yes. Scrolling through the list of results X had presented, Rui took note that In-N-Out seemed to be his best option. Jeez, was he really considering this? As if on cue, X chimed:

"Rui, these are primarily American chains, with larger portions and more calories... I'd advise finding an establishment more suited to your tastes. Would you like me to run another search?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm going to stay here."

Updating his palate was in his future.

[visravana]

✠ what's left

[visravana]

There was determination in this person, it was clear without a doubt. Frankly enough, it reminded her of someone and she couldn’t help but give the other a helpless smile. Sometimes she had to realize how she took everything so seriously for the sheer reason of a so called duty without taking a step back and retracing her own steps. But a job was supposed to be taken with an iron fist, no? To keep everything in order, at least.

"Don’t worry. First and foremost, I’ll find the opportunity to catch him myself again later. You’re being too devoted to an occupation that isn’t yours. Please, don’t bring yourself into trouble for the sake of me," she reassured the younger one. Unless ‘she’ genuinely wanted to help, then there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, the city itself wasn’t too broad in her opinion, and summoning Kuraha would make targeting the opponent much easier.

There was an urge to gently stroke the other’s hair, but she resisted. "I am Bishamon, and I would like to say the same as well, Rui." What a lovely name that was. She paused for a moment, "Are you alright?"

[galacks]

Rui felt himself relax upon hearing Bishamon's gentler tone. He didn't know how much he actually knew about mother figures, but she certainly felt like one. It was a soothing presence. Too bad, Rui, you're a married adult and not a baby.

"Forgive me if I was being overzealous. You sound good at your job."

Current job, anyhow. 

"I'm fine. Really. And my offer still stands--if there's any way I can assist in the future... I'd be happy to."

And... he could've left it at that, but Rui wasn't called a prodigy for nothing.

"...ah, Bishamon. That's from the name of a deity, isn't it?"

[galacks]

family bonding/lessons in earth cuisine [asseylum]

Rui slid his shoes off as he entered his new apartment. It certainly wasn't the penthouse suite he'd used to live in, but Rui figured he could deal with the compromise... he liked to think he didn't spoil himself too badly.

"I'm at home," Rui spoke to his tablet as he shuffled around to the bathroom and to change out of his dress and wipe off his makeup. 

"Welcome home, Rui! Your diet for today--"

"I haven't had dinner yet. Recommend anything?"

X proceeded to rattle off a list of fairly expensive or garnished recipes while Rui tapped his chin as if in thought.

"Umm... how about something I can make with ingredients from the grocery store down the street."

"I'm unsure."

"That's fine. I can manage... I'm an adult, aren't I?"

Well, that depended on whether whatever deity watching over them took pity on how rarely Rui cooked for himself. And with having to worry about cohabitating with two people who were supposed to constitute his new 'family...'

Rui set himself up in the kitchenette with his tablet propped up on the counter and a cutting board laid out in front of him. He now felt uncomfortably... comfortable? Domestic. It was a new feeling.

The butterflies in his stomach only got worse when he heard the front door click open and poked his head out to see who it was. 

"Welcome home," he said reflexively. It couldn't possibly be someone who wasn't meant to live there... but at least if it was some hostile stranger, Rui had a few lackluster kitchen knives to swing around like in the horror movies. ...that never really ended well, though.

[casanovistics]

It was lucky that one of them had money, because Inigo sure didn’t. Being part of an army had its perks— things were usually bought for individual members using the money collected along their various raids— but he didn’t really get the time for snack items, let alone something that was completely fresh, except for once in a while.

The actual intent of the cakes displayed went straight over his head for a moment there, but once he noticed, he coughed. How awkward.. Well, in any case, a few, possibly over dramatic thoughts came to mind. "How long do you think they’ve been sitting there? Waiting, watching— oh. Food doesn’t watch, but…" Well, a point was still a point.

He’d be so preoccupied by the idea of the bakery that he forgot he still hadn’t told much about himself.. Explaining his own situation, however, wasn’t very easy, either.

"It’s… hard to say," Inigo began, his attention falling to the tablet he was still holding, "you know, like this.. Wi-Fi is hard to explain for you." He was a bit proud he’d remembered what it was called— or was it wrong? Oh well. "But! Well, soldiers fight, obviously.. in battle.. And people died and I helped.."

—kill them? That’s awkward to say on a first meeting. “…I helped fight! I’m a bit of a swordsman myself, although it’s not on me right now.” Going into details about the actual cause wasn’t something he liked to do, so it was better to avoid that for now.

[galacks]

Not being able to explain it well made sense, but Rui couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He'd wanted to understand this war Inigo fought in, but... there was probably time for that later, too.

Now, what would be a good thing to say? 'I'm sorry you had to kill people, or watch others die,' sounded like it'd be a bit of a mood killer. There was also the dilemma of wars tending to be in moral gray areas, and getting into that impassioned discussion wouldn't make for a necessary first impression. 

"That is interesting. I don't think I've met many people who handle swords."

Given living in modern day Tokyo.

"And... I'm sorry for the culture shock. It must be hard. I probably wouldn't fare well in your world. I'm not built for fighting."

That was good, right? Not too, uh... awkward. Rui opened his wallet--not as impressive as it was before,  but he didn't generate as much revenue here... but it was a livable wage, and that was good enough for him. A tiny bit begrudgingly; makeup was expensive, and so was his wardrobe, and could you really skimp on such things?

"Did you have anything in mind? That you'd like to eat."

Discussions of whether or not whoever was governing this city was playing games with mental warfare could be held off for now, too; there was so much to talk about. It was a little tiring. 

[visravana]

✠ what's left

[visravana]

Multiple apologizes were heard from the person, almost as if they were taking full responsibility of what just happened. She had merely prepared for an unsympathetic apology, or even an argument from the other, yet it was neither. What was she doing? Some kind of god she was- letting white anger blind her sight in innocence again. Old habits certainly died hard, didn’t they.

Rising from the ground, she looked at the individual whom she had crashed against. A young girl? How peculiar it was for her to be seen in mortals’ views as clear as day, another aspect she assumed she had to get accustomed to. This truly was a strange world, wasn’t it. While many unanswered inquiries roamed in her head, she steadily shook them off before giving a sincere apology.

"-How rude of me. My apologizes, it was my own fault for not keeping a keen eye on my path… Though you are forgiven as well." She spoke in a soothed tone, much different than the threatening one from before. Truth be told, she was the reason why both parties were rudely interrupted with their routine. All because of her selfish desires to set justice around here. Perhaps it was a wiser decision to summon one of her shinki in order to avoid any inconvenience, though it was a bit too late for regrets now, wasn’t it?

Her focus remained sharp on the topic, however, when she noticed how determined the ‘girl’ tend to be about assisting her. "Do you believe it’s possible? I’d imagine if he hasn’t gone far, we can still track him down."

[galacks]

What a kind woman. Rui thought that she gave off the vibe of someone who was to be respected, so he bowed at her apology. 

"It's no trouble. I guess we can agree we were both being a bit careless."

Now there was grappling with what to do in this situation; before, Rui would've sent out an alert through GALAX and someone would've apprehended the thief, surely, but even if he could... he didn't know what the person looked like, did he? Except for the brief glimpse of them after they'd already hurried away...

"Ah... I'm not sure, honestly... it's..."

Boy, he was all nerves. What a bad time to be carrying a bag of his own around. Right now, it felt like dead weight.

"We can try to find him, at least. I'll certainly help you. And..."

What was getting into him, lately? Rui never used to introduce himself to people before, at least not using his real name, but... what was the point of his moniker if no one would know who he was either way? Besides, it made him seem like... less of a jerk, maybe.

"I'm Rui. Sorry we had to meet under such circumstances."

[galacks]

Rui's flesh is up for grabs. He's got a good complexion.

[casanovistics]

Although it didn’t seem likely that anything would actually happen, when the tablet spoke back to him, Inigo’s eyes widened, and he grinned, mostly out of delighted shock. "Oh! Hah! That’s you! It knows your name.." Technology was amazing.

But now that the question was asked, he realized that he didn’t actually need anything, at least not now. Inigo settled that he would keep hold of the tablet for now anyway, though, simply because it was cool. Besides, he might think of something while they’re walking.

Thinking about the clothing stores was a.. little.. Well. Maybe he should get something more suited to the times, but he was so used to the fashion trends back home (in fact, he liked to think he was on top of them, even though he didn’t get much time to shop at all) that the idea of seeing what was in now wasn’t very appealing.

The smell of good food, however, was. Stopping upon seeing the first of the before-mentioned bakeries, Inigo stared towards it eagerly.

"Let’s go there! Do you mind?"

[galacks]

"Oh, not at all. I haven't been to one in a while..."

Ah, sadly enough. The idea of eating a pastry freshly-baked instead of pulling it out of a wrapper was appealing, but, again, who was he supposed to be shopping for? Being a sugar daddy must be hard. 

Rui stepped over to one of the store fronts and looked at the cakes in the window display with interest. They were more-or-less all wedding cakes three tiers or more, which was maybe... ironic, and a little off-putting. Maybe just a crepe would be fine...

"Now, then... Inigo, would you mind telling me more about what you do as a soldier? I'm interested."

[visravana]

✠ what's left

This concept of family was no foreign matter to her, in fact she knew very well as to what it was- and how it felt. Contentment, compromise, and pain; those were the important components of creating a family. If only it were that simple to accept such elements into her mind though. Her impudent memory of being a failure god and not being able to protect her precious shinki haunted her no matter where she was, thus only furthering her concerns instead of delight.

Admittedly, she wasn’t even prepared for this at all.

As someone who always put on an assertive facade, this was one of the few times in which she found herself in uncertainty. Where was ‘he’ when she needed him? Her lead shinki, her last surviving ‘Ma clan’ member, her dearest companion that was able to confront her without fear. No- she had to stop being so dependent. Regardless of being his master, he was still his own self and she needed to respect that as well.

She was aware that she needn’t time to spare, she had plenty of opportunities to do that later. For now, what concerned her was the abrupt separation from her current clan that led her to being positioned with a new title that she had not even asked for.

How did a goddess like herself suddenly become a wife, mother, and a police? This all seemed like a mess to her, but that didn’t mean she was willing to throw in the towel so easily without a fight. At least an attempt would do to make this better. Incidentally, once focusing back on her job she noticed a jarring shove. From what appeared to be an accident was no accident at all when all the pieces fell into a single answer that the jerk who just pushed her was no more than a crook who stole a purse. Great, slacking off on the first day on her job.

"GET BACK HERE-"

Equipped with shinki or not, she was still capable of capturing him on her own. Well- if someone wasn’t in the way that is. A collision with another occurred, leaving her on the ground as she watched the enemy’s distance increase between her. While she had herself to blame for the lack of vigilance provided, she couldn’t help but let her anger boil. "Tch-!" Her teeth clenched, she shot a deadly glare at the bypasser. "I hope you didn’t intentionally cross paths with me to let that rat of a criminal get away."

[galacks]

"...criminal?" 

Rui tossed a concerned glance over his shoulder, eyebrows creasing.

"F-forgive me! Please, I assure you I didn't mean to impede you! I'll help you catch them in whatever way I can."

Yes, this is what Rui was put on this earth for, surely--improving the world! He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, presumably full of clothes and his small electronics, and his phone was whipped out in front of him. It took a guilty lowering of his head to signal that he'd been too preoccupied checking his messages to realize that he was walking right in Bishamon's path. What good was checking them when he'd lost touch with nearly all of his contacts when he came to this place? Well, old habits die hard.

"Again, forgive me, but--"

Rui clenched his hand into a fist. He didn't know what the woman was feeling, exactly, but he assumed it was the same as anyone else here; they were all struggling to adjust to their new lives that they weren't even sure was necessary to take on. Even still, they couldn't wallow in it selfishly; if they could already understand each other on this basic level, they should help each other. Maybe he would've been better off working as a doctor, or a police officer, but Rui was a bit too soft to do either long-term. 

"--we have to catch them, if it's still possible! Or, please direct me to the person who was stolen from, and I'll assist them."

Was a stolen purse worth that much to him, or the person who had lost it? Maybe, yes.

[casanovistics]

"It must be something like that, although it all still seems pretty weird to me? Like how is that even possible anyway? I mean, you’d think there’s only one universe, but obviously there isn’—" Ah, he had rambled without thinking about it. Rolling his shoulders back, he exhaled and offered a smile instead of finishing.

Wi-Fi, okay. He made a mental note of finding out what that was later. If he didn’t remember most of this, Inigo would at least remember to do that.

Although he still hadn’t exactly processed how it was that you worked this thing, he opted to gently take the tablet since he was given permission to look at it, right? But instead of doing anything, he just ended up staring.

"Ohhhh.." Gods, this was actually really confusing. It was way too hard to become so advanced in technology within a day. "So I can ask it questions? And it knows?" Holding the tablet up a little bit above his head as if that would do anything, Inigo wrinkled his nose and squinted his eyes. "Hi? Will it respond? I don’t really get it—"

[galacks]

"Sorry, it's probably still hard to understand, but X is designed to be user-friendly, so you don't have to worry. They can answer just about anything, yes."

The screen chirped a 'hello, Rui, do you need something?' in response, unaware that its creator had handed it over to someone else. This usually would've caused some separation anxiety, but Rui doubted Inigo could do much harm.

"...if we'll be living together, you'll have lots of time to learn about things. You can hold on to X, but we should keep walking. I think there are some bakeries around here... and clothing stores... ohh."

Rui, who are you shopping for, here..........

[galacks]

shrine at dusk

Now that Rui was aware of who he would be staying with for the time being and was almost certain that neither of them were murderers, aliens or harbored ill will against humanity in any other sort of way, he felt almost at ease. There was still a lot on his mind, like what to do without GALAX, namely, but Rui was fine with being given a spouse and a younger person to look after if it was truly for the good of the people.

It was a bit naive...

Anyhow, Rui had figured he would pray. In such a seemingly all-inclusive city, he was certain there had to be a Shinto shrine somewhere closer to the suburbs, flanking the open land. And it was a shrine visit, of all things, so to be respectful he'd decided to forego his short skirts, tube tops, copious amount of blonde wigs... well, you get it. 

Comfy clothes were nice once in a while. It was late in the evening when he had decided to set out on the journey that took a few hours, anyway, and Rui ended up at the shrine around the time the sky had turned orange. As he expected, it was empty.

Two bows, two claps.

Thank you for rooming me with sensible people! Please allow me to protect the welfare of the people in this city!

A final bow.

Rui escorted himself to the entrance of the shrine and stared off to the shore of the beach in the distance.

[casanovistics]

That’s great and all, he wanted to say, except I have no idea what that even is.

Actually, the whole time he’d been here, Inigo had been amazed left and right at a bunch of different new technology. Coming from a place with.. well, none of that, his first instinct was to assume it was some sort of magic.

Looking over Rui’s shoulder, Inigo pretended that he understood what he was saying and tried to hide his inner amazement for now. He was doing a pretty good job at it, too, if you asked him. "Help each other?" Right, he could pick up on that at least.

"It feels like that’s hard to find nowadays, especially with these circumstances, but it’s still a good thing to keep in mind." After all, he had a white knight side to himself. 

Talking about himself and his background wasn’t exactly easy when it came to a stranger, but he couldn’t hide it forever. "As for me, I’m a soldier— sort of. Actually, where I come from, we never had any of… those.. Uh. Things." Cue him gesturing to the tablet. "What kind of magic is it using, anyway?"

[galacks]

"You were... I mean, you're a soldier? From a different time than me... or universe, maybe? Hm..."

Rui Ninomiya, trilingual and intelligent enough to teach, like, Calculus AP, maybe, was at a loss for how to explain a Microsoft Surface to Inigo without using terminology that would fly right over his head.

"It's not magic. It's electricity, mostly... and Wi-Fi."

Damn it.

"See, it's a computer..."

"Listen... since we're--" married? "--together..." Still sounded weird... "You can look at this." Trust-building exercises on the first date. Naturally. "Be nice to X."

He tapped the A.I. on the home screen gently.

"They're an artificial intelligence. That means I created them from scratch and made it so that they'd get smarter by learning things on their own... like a human. X is better at answering questions than I am, anyway. And I've still got a gift to buy you. " 

[casanovistics]

He might have been a soldier and everything, but off the battlefield, Inigo wouldn’t hurt a fly— well, no, he’d hurt a bug, but a person? Nah. He didn’t really have the capacity to be harmful in any other way besides physically, either.

He figured it was best to smile now, despite his somewhat shy feelings, and so he did so, laughing sheepishly to accompany his change in expression. He couldn’t crawl back into the shell he abandoned just because of this, after all.

"Ah, well, only if you say so!" Who was he to deny gifts (multiple times), anyway? "I’m Inigo. It’s nice to meet you too! I hope it stays nice, since it seems like we’re going to be spending a lot of time together."

Oh yeah.. A location. Hmm.. He could think of something. Beginning to walk already, Inigo hesitated to look back to make sure Rui would follow. "Sooo… Um, what do you do?" 

[galacks]

Oh, was he thrilled to be asked. Rui had been mulling over whether pulling out his tablet would've seemed rude or not, but now he brandished it and swiped it open.

"I work with programming, mostly. I made GALAX from scratch... see, this application, and people communicate through it..."

Though the thought of its active userbase dropping nearly 95% since coming to this new city... ah, Rui didn't want to wallow in the end of his baby.

"It's... it's meant to encourage people to help each other, is all. Just because it's the right thing to do. Um... enough about that, though. I'd like to hear about you." 

HE'D BE TAKING NOTES, NOW, INIGO.