(Open) Spoopy Month

[geckoman]

WHO: Iwai and OPEN
WHERE: Various locations
WHEN: Throughout the month
WHAT: Between nightmare scenarios and a ton of roses, Iwai has a full month.
WARNINGS: Some violence, some suggested Persona 5 spoilers (you will be safe if you want to tag though so just let me know if you'd like me to be extra careful for your tags!). Will be updated as necessary but some necessary content warnings will be at the top of scenarios.

10/3-10/5 - Out with the Roses

That damn Baren. Iwai frowned at all the roses off to one side of his shop as he chewed on the stick of his lollipop. He'd told those working for him that it was up to them to figure out how they were going to get rid of the things. An entire truckload of damn roses. And with the fog and the nightmares going on these were just extra irritating.

(And no way was he ever thanking the guy for at least making it so he could do a nice gesture with three of them. Nope. No way, no how.)

Which meant that for a few days his employees and customers were very likely to see a giant pile of roses in the corner until he could get them cleared out. That should be fun, right?

Nightmare A - Neglect (CW: Child neglect, drug and sex talk within)

The vision was that of a small boy sitting on his futon with what looked like a small sandwich. A sandwich of bread. All around him was trash and there's even unfortunate things like condoms just scattered about. The boy continued to eat as he watched the door earnestly. It looked like there was nothing in the outside world beyond the windows.

That door opened and a woman came stumbling inside with a cocky looking man behind her. The boy stood up and the woman frowned at him. "Oh. I forgot I had you here."

She looked back at the man and pressed her chest to him. "Don't worry. He won't bother us. My room is this way."

And then they went down the hall leaving the boy alone before the vision repeated itself.

Leaning against a wall nearby was Iwai watching the whole thing, glaring at it and looking so tense. He'd tried to get out of here but it was like he was doomed to just watch this over. And over. And over. And over...

Nightmare B - Danger (CW: Violence)

This vision began with some rough looking Japanese men in suits holding out guns. Iwai was there too but he quickly ducked behind a box as the shots started to ring out. "Shit..."

Patting his clothes on instinct, he found that he was unarmed. Those bastards were going to kill him. "Shit, shit..."

The footsteps were getting closer now as the shots stopped. Here in this shipyard they were going to kill him. They'd actually tracked him down before he could leave Japan. That was what it was, wasn't it. It had to be.

The steps were closer...

He was going to die here...

Fog - Vanishing (Here be the vague spoilers. This will be rather vague here so if you would like it kept that way please let me know in the subject!)

Iwai wasn't sure what was going on. He'd been on his way back to his place when all these people around him had appeared. They were coming towards him with terror in their eyes and arms out stretched. It was like some kind of damn zombie movie if it were a film about scared crowds instead. And why they were all looking to him was beyond him but he knew better than to stay in their way. Survival was important here.

So he ducked into what had to be the park and got behind a tree, poking his head out now and then. Just in time to watch some of them scream as they started to just...ripple out of existence.

"Damn it..." What the hell was this? He didn't have anything to deal with things like this! Biting the stick in his mouth, he froze when he heard what some of the screams actually were.

"Save us!"

"Save us, Iwaaaaaaaaaaai!"

What? Why him?

Comments

Fog! slightly altered for CR ;)

[flowrite]

Fai had unexpectedly found himself with a free evening after one of his classes had been rescheduled. And yeah, maybe it was pushing a little too much after the dates they'd already been on this month, but he'd still given in to impulse and called Iwai to see if he was free. Drinks had been decided on, much to Fai's delight.

So here he was, just getting out of the taxi he'd called and getting ready to hoof it across the little plaza toward the bar where they'd agreed to meet, when he caught sight of Iwai... going the other way?

For a moment Fai just stood there, too surprised to react. Had he really just seen Iwai leaving the place they'd agreed to meet? He pulled out his phone but no, there was no message he'd missed.

No. Iwai wasn't bailing on him. Not after they'd literally just agreed on this. Iwai wouldn't do that.

Fai pulled his jacket tighter around himself and crossed his arms over his chest, and started off at a slow jog toward where he'd seen Iwai go.

[geckoman]

He was trying to figure out a way out of this when he moved to try and slip around. There had to be a hole here. There... Over there.

Slipping past, he swore under his breath and glanced back to see that the people were still calling out to him, seeming to just creepily melt out of sight. There was nothing he could do though. How the hell did you help fog beings? That was impossible as far as he could tell.

It was then he saw another figure and he actually paused a moment a few feet from Fai.

"...Are you going to vanish too?" He...had to know. Those other faces were rather nameless. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of suddenly Fai being part of this.

[flowrite]

It wasn't until he got closer to Iwai that he started to see the people.

What the hell was going on? They were running and screaming and then just... melting out of existence?

Another one of Retrospec's messes. It had to be.

Eyes wide, Fai made a beeline for Iwai. The people in the fog didn't seem to be intent on hurting them, thankfully, but what were they so afraid of? He was actually intending to curl up close to Iwai when the other man stopped a short distance from him.

Fai stared back at him, confused. "Vanish? I-- What's going on? Who are all these people?"

[geckoman]

He was real.

Reaching for him, he pulled him close then immediately pulled him around the side of a nearby building. Keeping him against him, he poked his head out. Those people were still coming. But they never seemed to be smaller in number. Gritting his teeth, he kept a protective arm around Fai since he didn't know what would happen if they reached them.

"I don't know."

That...sort of summed up everything he knew about this situation currently.

[flowrite]

Fai was only too glad to tuck himself against Iwai and didn't resist being pulled around the side of the building. It wasn't like the apparitions were trying to hurt them, but this was definitely a far creepier night than he'd been hoping for!

"I wonder what they're running from?" he said quietly, peeking out from around Iwai's shoulder at the people still running toward them. Whatever it was must be terrible.

...wait. Save us, Iwai? Startled, Fai turned his gaze from the frightened (ghosts?) people back to Iwai. "They know your name?"

[geckoman]

"They look Japanese too. But they ain't talking in the right language to be."

He didn't know what that meant. Just that he was going to pull Fai away from them again, walking more because... "Shit."

They'd appeared on the other side as well. Looking around for an exit, he found the one opening and pull Fai that direction. They just couldn't stay here. There was no way for them to be safe here. He didn't know what would happen if they caught up even with them screaming for him to help them.

"I don't know why they want me. I can't help them."

[flowrite]

Oh god there were more of them? Fai didn't know what their language being different meant either, but even though the people didn't seem to want to harm them, he was with Iwai in that he didn't really want to be completely surrounded by them either.

He did his best to keep pace with Iwai as they darted through the opening, careful to make sure he didn't lose his grip on Iwai's jacket.

"Is this... some sort of nightmare?" he huffed as they ran. It stood to reason, didn't it? If nightmares had suddenly invaded most of Recolle, what if those same nightmares were learning how to take shape in the physical world?

[geckoman]

"If it is then I guess it's mine."

One of them reached for him and he felt nails scratch his neck. It stung like hell and probably was bleeding some but he managed to shrug the person off just as they disappeared. "Problem is that I don't know what this nightmare is supposed to be or why it wants me."

He'd never been bothered by people vanishing and him being alone. So why this now?

[flowrite]

Panic shot through Fai when he saw one of the fog people not only reach them finally, but scratch at Iwai. So these frightened people weren't harmless after all!

He hadn't had to use his magic for more than a fancy flashlight for over a month, but seeing someone he cared about get hurt was enough to kick Fai back into that mindset, or at least start to. With a quick glance around them to ascertain that none of the fog people could reach them before he'd be able to finish, he tugged on Iwai's jacket to indicate that he should stop moving.

At the same time Fai's free hand came up and he began to trace runes of vivid white light right into the air around them. He worked swiftly, the long string of runes coming easily to mind after having cast this spell so many times. As the last one was inscribed into the air a network of lines made of the same white light formed a sort of web around them in a sphere shape, banded by Fai's runes.

Now, unless those people in the fog could shred magic, the two of them should be safe.

Nightmare B

[toobigtohandle]

The scene was so familiar and yet not. As in, Kenta had had some unfortunate encounters with Mafia guys, but they were mostly when he'd been a child and had had other people to fight for him. Ever since he's been'd come to Recolle, he'd been relatively safe, and hadn't had much occasions to actually brawl unless it was training with his bodyguards.

He recognized the man huddled there. It was the guy who had followed him around the day of the meeting and had somehow recognized him as a ember of the underworld. Why was he in a shootout with some people and seemingly unarmed and hiding?

And what was even his name?Kkenta was quite sure he hadn't heard it last time, worried as he'd been about getting the man away from him.

"What's happening here?"

[geckoman]

He brought his hands up as if to defend himself when he saw Kenta. He'd dismissed the guy as meaning him any harm. Yet here he was when these other guys were trying to kill him.

"Look if you're gonna kill me then just do it quick. Leave everyone else I know out of this."

If nothing else he had to protect them.

[toobigtohandle]

Kenta blinked, and cocked his head to the side, clearly looking puzzled.

"Why would I kill you? I don't even know who you are?"

The only thing he understood was that the guy probably had some underworld connections, but that was about it, really.

"Where are we?"

[geckoman]

A bullet almost hit the guy and Iwai cursed before grabbing the kid to haul him down with him.

"You idiot, you'll get shot."

He had no idea why he was protecting him but he was and that was all there was to it.

"Some docks somewhere. Ain't that obvious?"

[toobigtohandle]

That shot did sound very real, and upon being grabbed Kenta ducked to hide behind the crate as well.

"Well, that part is obvious. But it doesn't tell much. This is Japan, isn't it? Why are people shooting at you?"

If this was the same strange nightmare thing that had been happening all over, it was... feeling a bit too realistic, almost.

[geckoman]

"If you don't know then you're definitely not around to kill me."

He snorted then glanced around the crate before grabbing Kenta's shirt to pull him with him so they could find new and better cover.

"I screwed them out of a deal and they want me dead. Pretty sure just about every major crime family may want me dead honestly."

[toobigtohandle]

Well, that definitely sounded like something that would get someone killed in the underworld.

"... How did you even manage that? You really must have done a number on them for them to resort to that?"

Honestly, Kenta couldn't remember ever hearing about such an incident, but this could have happened before he had started becoming involved in family affairs.

He followed Iwai to cover before shaking off the hand holding him.

"You don't have to keep dragging me around. I can follow directions."

[geckoman]

"Complain about the dragging when we're not possibly going to die."

Iwai looked out and didn't see anyone. They had a small break at least. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall and sighed.

"Munehisa Iwai. One of the biggest names in the underground of Japan. Least it was when I was an arms dealer and everyone wanted my business. Then I heard that someone buying my supplies planned to shoot up a building with their enemies in it. A building filled with kids. So I switched the shipments to give them airsoft rifles that looked like what they ordered and left the country."

A roll of his neck and then he was swearing as a bullet hit the wall near his head. Immediately, he was rolling to get to the next cover.

"Come on, kid. We gotta move."

10/3 Roses

[bitemefightme]

Well...

That's alot of roses. Orion's actually impressed. Shocked as shit, but impressed nonetheless.

He's still trying to figure out a few things - how to get rid of them (since he's pretty damn sure Iwai doesn't want them filling up the trash bins; not that it would do any good anyway), and why there's a million roses in Iwai's shop.

Who has this much money to spend on roses anyway? Jesus Christ.

He wonders if it would be okay to give Fai a bouquet of roses at this point, too. Or if that would just make things.... awkward... all things considered.

Yea, probably awkward.

"Why don't we just burn 'em?" he asks casually. Orion, no. "Or maybe donate them somewhere." That's better.

He cocks an eyebrow at Iwai at this point.

"Who did you flatter, anyway? This is one Hell of an infatuation."

[geckoman]

"Some guy on the app thinks he's hilarious. Tried sending the damn things back but he just sent them back here."

He sighed and frowned at the things. Even after pulling three away from here there were still too many of them. Donating wasn't a bad idea. Though he wasn't turning down the burning idea either.

Iwai was good people. Really.

"Know any places that would take rose donations?"

[bitemefightme]

Orion can't help but snrk at that. He's on the jokester's side for this one - it is pretty hilarious.

"Man, someone has alot of money on their hands if they can afford all of this as a prank."

Orion stares at the roses for a long moment. Initially, he'd thought an orphanage or something. But why would an orphanage take roses?

Hang on a moment, Iwai, he needs to take a solid moment to think this one over.

Wait, he remembers a texting conversation he had over his first day on Retrospec. God, talk about forever ago... What was the place the person said they worked.

"What about the host club? Team Sunshine or..." no, that wasn't right. "...whatever it's called."

[geckoman]

"That could work. I've got a card for them so I can give it to you to call up the guy who owns it."

Iwai figured that maintaining good business relationships there was a good idea. Didn't matter that their places were meant for completely different things. They still could both use the support and advertising.

"Hang on."

He was heading over to the counter so he could fish through drawers.

[bitemefightme]

"Sure, take your time."

He goes back to pondering the roses while he waits. Even if he drives a car, that's alot of flowers. How many trips would it take to deliver all of them? Or would they pick them up?

Honestly, he has no idea. Guess he'll have to ask questions in a minute here.

For now, he'll just gather the roses in bundles to try and at least make carrying them to a vehicle easier.

[geckoman]

"Here it is. Just tell the owner that Iwai wants to know if he wants some free roses for his club."

He'd do it but since he was the only one in with access to the register it was better if he was free for that. Besides, it would be good experience for the kid. Doing things like this was good practice for other possible jobs he might get down the line. At least he sure as hell hoped Orion got something good later on. He deserved that.

"I'll look into getting us a truck for these in the meantime."

[bitemefightme]

before pushing send. He holds the phone to his ears and waits for someone to pick up.

"Hey, I need to speak to the owner," he glances at the card. "Goro Majima?"

After a brief hold, Orion holds a conversation about the flowers with Majima, providing the details that there was a mass of roses delivered to Iwai's shop with no place to put them and asking if he wanted the flowers as a donation. He nods as he gets the instructions about what part of the building to bring the flowers to, and trades his own information for purposes of needing to reach him and who to talk to. With a nod (they can't see you Orion) and a thanks, he hangs up the phone.

Orion pockets the card to find the address later (he'll bring it back, Iwai. Really.) and comes back to Iwai.

"He said he'd like 'em. Sounded like he really appreciated it."

[geckoman]

"Good. We can make sure to get them over there after I close up since it looks like you're here until closing today. I'll just drop you off wherever you need to be after that."

Iwai was unwrapping a new lollipop that he stuck into his mouth and tossed the wrapper into a trashcan near him. Leaning back in his chair, he pulled out another one and held it up in offer to Orion.

Like he was going 'want one?'