IC INBOX FOR HAVEN

[nagachika]

  

 Hey there, sorry, I can't reply right now but if you wanna leave me a message I'll get back to you as soon as possible! If I'm out on some adventure, it might take a bit longer than you'd like! If it's a pretty girl, feel free to leave your phone number for me, too! Yooooosh!!

 

 

Comments

call

[kakuja]

[ He's been putting it off for ages, but if Hide doesn't hear it from him, he's going to hear it from someone else, and that isn't the way Kaneki ever wanted this to go. Not that this is the way he wanted it to go down either, but this is better than grapevine rumours of how he's been acting lately.

So--he calls. Finally. He doesn't know exactly what he wants to say, but now is probably the time to say it. ]

call

[nagachika]

[He stares down at his phone with a quiet expression. He still hadn't gotten any real answers, save for Zed's 'Oh he's still in the city!' claim. So despite his searching and despite Kaneki's picture still being in the phone registry...

He'd almost--almost started giving up hope again.

His phone beeps again. Telling him that the other line was still trying to get through. His hesitations weren't being punished. Kaneki wasn't about to hang up yet. He won't wait another second, his finger pressing the faded 'answer' button, pressing the thing to his ear.]

--Man, way to give a guy a heart attack. Disappearing on me again; like that. I really thought I was gonna die, this time.

[His voice, while the words are in that joking manner he always puts forth; Kaneki would hear it as someone who's far more concerned. Far more worried.

Where were you.]

[kakuja]

[ It only hits him harder how much things have changed when Hide hasn't, always answering the phone mid conversation--pleasantries were never his style, and Kaneki always found that refreshing. Genuine? Comforting.

He knew Hide was worried, he saw the post he made, but hearing it directly in his voice sets off a new wave of guilt in him, and he shuffles awkwardly on the other end of the line. ]

Sorry about your heart... I didn't plan on it.

[nagachika]

[He knew--He knew how many things had changed in Kaneki's life as of late. He might not know to what severity--why, how, exactly; what sort of things he had to deal with.

But with circumstances as they were--The other working in a coffee shop for ghouls; having to adjust to a new eating habit; He could only think of one thing. One thing--to be something--someone--who didn't change in his life. Something normal. Something; and someone; Kaneki could always fall back on. Even now, after weeks of being terrified.]

That's the way this place is, right? Never really plan for any sort of awful thing that happens. [He laughs, the sound is mirthful--but perhaps, just a little forced.]

...So what happened?

[kakuja]

I did something.

[ He has so much to come clean for; this feels like a confessional. He's tired of shitting his best friend out, he's tired of being alone, he's--tired. He's so tired.

There's a long silence again, and a deep breath. ]

It was really bad... I wanted to disappear, but I didn't think I actually would.

[nagachika]

[Maybe it IS a little like confession, but at this point, Hide was ready to hear the other out. No matter how long it took him to speak; no longer how roundabout his answers were going to be.

He knew things; already; but blurting them out over a phone call... No, it could wait. Slow and steady.]

You know, whatever it was, Kaneki. I'd have your back, right. [There's not one moment of hesitation in his voice, not one ounce of anything dishonest.] Even if you did want to disappear. You're back; now. And you can tell me anything.

...You know that, right?

[kakuja]

I know that. I've known that for so long. You've always been there for me.

[ He wishes he was the same. Disappearing for as long as he had back home, and doing the same thing here--why? What was his reason, again...? Shame? Embarrassment? Rejection? Hide wouldn't judge him for anything. ]

There used to be a reason I kept things from you, back when we were home. It was important that I did, so I did, but that reason isn't here anymore, and you're in more danger if you don't know than if you do.

I have so much to tell you.

voicemail!

[rubbernecking]

HIDE..!!

[ How many people do you know who call out your name with such sing-song exuberance and boundless energy? ]

Looks like all those Mystery Ghosts finally went away. Does weird stuff like that usually happen..?

Anyway, I've got something for you, so you better call me back when you hear this! Later..!

voicemail > voicecall

[nagachika]

[There's absolutely No-One in haven who calls out his name with such excitement. It absolutely rings out on his phone, and his roomates are probably giving him funny looks now.

But hey, it's not like the student cares; a call from Luffy is an always-welcome thing. And he'll call the other back within the hour.]

--Luffy! Luffy--hey. Don't hang up--it's Hide! [Have you figured out the phones yet, they're so half-functioning it's amazing they even work.]

voicecall

[rubbernecking]

[ There's an excited yelp, then a sort of fumble wherein the phone makes a clatter against something and then, and then--

Right, oops, Luffy accidentally hung up.

So there's a return call in short order (perhaps so short that he ends up with a busy signal and has to try again) but then finally: ]

There you are..!

Na! After all that weird stuff happened, you okay? I was wondering!

voicecall

[nagachika]

[He's trying to keep his laughter on the down-low when he finally gets a call back from Luffy--he has to admit, he's never had such adventures with his phone since this guy had shown up.

A few giggles under his breath when Luffy's voice finally announces itself on the line, he nods; a motion the other won't see.]

Here I am. And yeah, it was weird, right? But no, I'm fine. We hoarded up a bunch of food and useful things, so there's that. [He won't mention how he saw the 'ghost' of his boss wandering around.]

You didn't get into much trouble, did you?

voicecall

[rubbernecking]

Yeah? Us too! It was real convenient--

[ Not having to go around digging through debris and rooting through bins to find cans of dubious quality food items. Instead, just opening a closet to find things in tidy little stacks made replenishing Sanji's pantry so much easier.

And he got a few other things to boot. He's pretty sure everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he found a bar of soap. ]

--'cept getting messages from fake ghosts all the time. That was a pain!

[ Because Ace wouldn't cry for help. He wasn't like that, he would never be like that, not the least for being... well, anyway. He really doesn't want to think about that. ]

I had to chase down a friend of mine. He'll be fine, but I'm kinda worried about him.

...Oh yeah! I got something to give you! Where are you right now?

voicecall

[nagachika]

Yeah, me and you both. Things I don't need, Ghosts calling me and telling me things that aren't really important. [But the look on Seidou's face had been all too real. He was getting tired of these mind-screwing things Haven was pulling.]

These things happen at least once a month, I guess I should'a warned you a bit sooner, you know? [A light laugh.] You just gotta keep it in your head that none of it is real and you'll be fine.

Which friend of yours--

Oh.

I'm at home, in block one. I moved recently. Did you want to meet up? [You have something for me?]

voicemail

[haute_cuisine]

Yo, Hideyoshi -- Sanji.

Nami-san is missing... [ You know, the navigator that they're always going on about. ] Do you know anything about it?

[ His tone is even and despite his absolutely terrible phrasing, it's not accusatory.

* click * ]

voicemail --> voicecall

[nagachika]

[He recognises the voice, the picture that pings up on his phone, at least. But the message is one that he doesn't like.

At all.

Nami was missing already. He hadn't even gotten the breath in to reply to Luffy's message about it on the community--(It'd been a mess before he'd gotten to handle it, and he'd been unable to figure out how to approach it.)--and this was his chance to hopefully help out his new friends.

He hoped.

He'll give Sanji a call back, greeting the cook with a 'Heyo', before starting to talk.]

I know a lot more than a lot of people might be willing to tell you, to be honest.

Good handful of them--most of them, actually--want to hide it from the public.

[haute_cuisine]

[ If most people want it hidden, then it must be bad. The kind of bad that could potentially cause panic, but Sanji keeps his assumptions on hold for now... it sounds like Nagachika just might be willing to tell him anyway. ]

...Like the tunnel monsters. Sounds like a theory turned ghost story.

[ He's still not entirely convinced, but makes a mental note to enlist the aid of a doctor for an in-depth assessment of the next monster he kills. ]

Tell me anyway.

[nagachika]

The tunnel monsters was one of the things I wasn't aware about. Just my luck, huh? [He laughs, but even someone like Sanji would be able to pick out exactly how forced it is in comparison to how he usually laughs.]

Right. I'll tell you anyway. I'm not one of those folk in the habit of keeping secrets. We're stuck here. Like Mice. Together.

So working together, sharing information--we're only as good as we are in groups. Right?

So think about it this way, Sanji-san. I'll start with this.

We're all brought here, to this place so divorced from home that it's jarring. We're stuck in a spiral with strangers, left to scavenge for food and necessities--even bathing is difficult--and every month we're subjected to weird happenstances. Before you got here, it was chemical changes. Before that, people started experiencing mental changes--like, let's say for example, mind reading. Or becoming someone--something. You're not.

The housing spiral falls down into a giant pit and seals everyone inside a dark cave.

Before that? Everyone was sent to live in either a paradise, or a prison.

From just that ... what do you think we're all doing here.

[haute_cuisine]

[ Like mice, running around in a very large cage with a bunch of other critters or other mice-turned-monster depending on who you asked. Sanji has met some dependable people but a lot of them seem to be in real danger. It's... not their problem, though.

They're not heroes, they're pirates. They're not in this together, but Sanji isn't like Luffy who just blurts out whatever is going on in his head and just... listens. ]

How the hell should I know? [ He's only been here a month after all. ]. Sounds like we're some guinea pigs for someone's shitty experiments!

[nagachika]

Most new people don't know. And it's why I'm telling you this now. So you can tell the rest of your nakama.

'Guinea pigs for someone's shitty experiments' is hitting the nail on the head. We're all here for that exact reason.

Now, as to where Nami's gone... these people. 'The Yao Corporation'. They bring us here for their experiments, toy with our bodies, heads, and everything else--trans-dimensional travel isn't easy. Letting us just 'go home' isn't an option. But leaving your mice to just die is wasteful too.

When people disappear. They go to a place called storage. I can't tell you where it is. But everyone who was here at one point are another are there now. Kept in containers so they can be brought back later, or not at all.

audio, late late evening

[slushfund]

[there's a long silence, before the voice finally filters through the receiver.]

Still got that bleach?

audio;

[nagachika]

[What a strange call to get, especially so late. Was Hiruma not home? Normally he could just...]

Aa. I do. I didn't use it after that bit of logic you bestowed on me.

[slushfund]

I changed my mind.

[nagachika's sharp enough to catch the gravel in his throat. the cold, grim fury.]

I need it.

[nagachika]

That's no problem. You're welcome to have it.

[You didn't have to be sharp as Hide to note that tone.]

What's happened.

[slushfund]

[he considers replying, but there's no way.

there's absolutely no way.]

Just put the damn bottle in the washroom, the next time you're in there.

[nagachika]

...Yeah. No problem, bud.

...

Going somewhere?