Return to Tokyo-D

[opening_act]

[ You step through the portal into a place where black coats your vision— a solid, glossy coating of darkness that blocks out all light. For a moment, it is as though you've been been blindfolded, and all light is lost from your reach.

The light does not return.

But colors, in impossible neon hues hew through the dark and spangle newly across your vision. The city is drenched in kaleidoscopic light, the skyscrapers spiral to the heavens. At street level, it is Tokyo. Above that, stars move out of their orbits in dizzying motions. Other forms crowd the street with you— shiloettes of people drained of all their colors like it's bled into the city instead move about, not quite tangible but still giving off body heat. Monochrome figures also move through the crowd, a few demons, and

One demon that maybe some of you will recognize? Or not?

There's a girl with big puffy pigtails in full color with a bag full of groceries slung across her shoulder, heading somewhere. ]

Comments

[vitainmorte]

[ a long. pause










,]

-- is it possible to ask to be exchanged with someone else?

[opening_act]

I don't think the staffing department takes requests.

[vitainmorte]

... I see.

Thank you.

[opening_act]

You're welcome.

[ She gestures for her to follow ]

And come this way for now, okay?

[vitainmorte]

Um, yes, alright.

[ obediently following. ]

[opening_act]

[ She leads her down bright neon streets and advertisements bearing idol's faces, arcades with their merchandise inside claw machines, and ducks into an alleyway where people aren't. ]

And for my next trick, I need the audience to close your eyes~!

[vitainmorte]

[ does not... close her eyes for a long moment, nervous

but eventually does ]

[opening_act]

[ MAGIC TRICK!

she feels like she's falling for a moment, but when she opens her eyes she's in an office in one of the Tokyo-D high-rises, judging from the view outside the window. it's a room with a decent amount of desks, one of them belonging to exael's. You can tell by the paperwork piled up with her name on it, though she's definitely not the only one with paperwork undone. ]

Ta-dah! That was the disappearing and reappearing ladies trick!

[vitainmorte]

[ STARTLES, hands immediately going for her knives-- stops before actually touching them, looking around her with alarm and... confusion... ]

...

O-oh.

[opening_act]

It's easier than going past security for real.

[ She explains, sitting on her desk ]

[vitainmorte]

Ah...

[ ... straightens up, awkwardly, refocusing on her. ]

Are we less... [ makes a motion like being surrounded ] here?

[opening_act]

Less! You work for us, technically, so it's not that weird if you're with real staff.

[vitainmorte]

Is talking normally okay, then?

[opening_act]

Just don't say anyone important's name.

[vitainmorte]

The only person's name I know now is yours, Miss.

We aren't-- supposed to be here, are we?

[opening_act]

Nope. I can call someone to pick you up though if I pretend I called you in on purpose. It'll probably~ go fine!

[vitainmorte]

[ bows her head, a little. ]

I'm sorry for causing you trouble. If there's anything I could help you with in the meantime...?

[opening_act]

I'm good. Are you ready to go home, then?

[vitainmorte]

[ ...

shakes her head, brow furrowed. ]

I shouldn't before the others, at the very least.

[opening_act]

Okay, make yourself at home for a while!

[ she says, and shoves a stack of someone else's paperwork aside to gesture that Cypress can sit on a desk ]

[loveandthunder]

[ The office is an open floor plan—there's no privacy anywhere for anyone here, with little dividers between every two sets of desks. Exael's desk is a particular mess, paperwork stacked high—her photo is high enough in quality that it can capture "FORM OF REQUISITION" at the top sheet, as well as "school uniforms" written below, along with boring legalese. Another "FORM OF REQUISITION" and "casino" can be found on another stack.

The desk across next to hers in this divided section also has high stacks of paperwork—"GAME SUBMISSION" and "bumper cars" can be barely gleaned off of this paper, although there are chocolate fingerprints and smudges that makes it too hard to read otherwise. There are also just, a ton of selfies lining the divider on this side of a certain persona, along with candy strewn about.

There are a couple of small desk plants here, but. . . they're all shriveled up, long dead. Nobody comes by very often.

It's a miracle that she's able to take as good a picture as she does—even in the photo itself the lighting is bright and colorful and flashy, and clashes so much that it seems like the very lines in the photo themselves are doubled and hard to look at, like trying to watch a 3D movie without 3D glasses on. ]