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[hermes]

TURN 03 - Alexei

Before leaving
Pull Yumiko aside and ask if she would be able to take me to a place we might find some homeless people. People without much to lose and willing to take a risk. People to whom the chance to soak in a tub, stay in a nice warm bed and eat hot meals would be an improvement in their quality of life.

If she pretends not to know indignantly informs me that enlightened nations like Japan don't have such problems, then ask Genly. He instantly identified us s stalkers. He seems like the "say it like it is" type.

Ideally, I'm looking for a tent city or people sleeping in cardboard boxes in the subway mouth. Failing that, at least an internet cafe so we can find some net cafe refugees.

"Homeless people?  Yeah, there are lots of street people living in Sapporo.  I just don't understand, what do you want to talk to them about?  They're just dirty and very smelly!  You want to go to Bushido Batou too?  Well the best place for street people is the University grounds.  They have lots of shelter, people can't see them and the university is too poor to hire guards.  It's right next to the weapons store.  But if I take you, you have to promise to protect me.  They aren't the only ones who go there at night.  Do you want to go there?"

Also...inquire about the street legality of the weapons we're purchasing. Since we're walking into a visible storefront and purchasing firearms and walking out with them with no waiting period, no background check, no permits and without having even been asked for ID, I'm inclined to guess that legality is going to be handwaved as far as game mechanics go.

"Legal?"  The owner pipes up.  "Of course this isn't legal.  But who enforces the law around here?  It isn't the police.  Don't shoot nobody and you got no problem."

The above conversations should only take a minute or two, but note that I'd like to get to the Bushido Batou before it closes.

((No problem.  Everyone will have enough time for one more shop.))

((I need to update everyone's char sheets with weapons.. haven't forgotten, will do sometime.))

[hermes]

TURN 03 - Corban

Okay, I'll have a shotgun and some rounds then, though I'd also like a pistol, a few reloads and a holster too. Just in case. And a gas mask, also. Please.

Buy Sawed-Off shottie ($250)
Pistol ($400)
Shotgun Rounds (10) ($30)
4x Pistol Clips (4x$30=$120)
Holster ($100)
Gas Mask ($150) Total: $1050 plus whatever delivery fee is (if they do it)

The owner, without leaving the caged counter section of the shop, pulls everything out of cupboards and drawers and puts the items in a cheap black nylon zipper shoulder bag.  "$1050."  He opens up a service window and slides the bag through.  Corban puts the cash in the window and slides the bag out a bit.  Then asks,

"Could you deliver it to my hotel too please? I don't think many places would appreciate me walking in with a bag full of guns at this time of night!" He chuckles.

The owner looks at Corban sternly.  "We don't deliver.  Take the bag."  He continues to eye Corban as the Scot picks up the bag and walks to the door.
 

Leave quickly, jog to the drug store.

That last exchange felt awkward, and time is pressing, so Corban puts his legs into a brisk but careful jog to the drug store.  He remembers the owner's comment about the police and is glad that it seems that no-one will be stopping the guy running through the city carrying a big bag full of guns.  Well, he hopes.

Kusanagi's drug store is not so far, just a few blocks, but in the cold and carrying all the weaponry, Corban arrives puffed out.  There are still many people wandering on the streets, parties of drinkers coming out of bars drunk, club hosts trying to get them back in, and many who seem aimless and unconcerned with their place in life or where they are headed this night.  The lights are still on in the shop but he can't see into the bright store for all the advertisements and notices of special offers plastered over the windows.  He steps in and a speaker goes ping-pong.  It's not big, there are a few aisles of goods stretching back just twelve meters or so from the door.  On the right side, just inside, is the counter where a beautiful woman is standing and says, "Irrashaimase!"  She has black hair tinted purple and tied back and wears smart glasses and a white lab coat.  On her namebadge Corban reads in Japanese, "Makoto".  There are several people in the store walking around with baskets.

Spoiler: Kusanagi's Drug Store (click to show/hide)

Medical Gear
Adrenaline injection $300
Disinfectant $10
Bandage $5
Syringe $5
Medic's kit $300
Hypodermic needles (10) $5
Antibiotics (20 pills) $15
Iodine (100 capsules) $10
Insulin (20 doses) $10
Painkillers (20 pills) $15
Sleeping pills (20) $20
Stimulants (20 pills) $30
Sedatives (20 pills) $20

Food
Beef jerky $5
Canned food $5

[hector13]

Nods and smiles at Makoto as he enters, picking up a basket to at least give the impression he's here to shop. Like the gun store, browses the shelves while looking for cameras, and where they're pointing, and sizing up the other customers.

Figure out where cameras are and what they're covering, and figure out which customers will give him the least trouble should they see him do his thing.

[hermes]

TURN 03 - Kasumi

"Right. I'll just take those measurements now then and see what luck I have finding eyes around that size. Just warning you, I might not be able to find the exact size you want, but I'll try to get close to it." Kasumi says as she promptly makes a few measurements for the creepy man, not wanting to stick around him longer than needed.

Get his measurements and buy some spare batteries for my light and detector. Then head to the gunshop and check things out, specifically keeping an eye open for good knives, helmets and extra gasmask filters. Ask if I can take a lesson in using guns too.

Kasumi asks the man for a measure and he pulls one from a desk drawer on his right.  She holds it up to each socket in turn, measuring the vertical and horizontal dimensions.  He leans his head forward and keeps still while Kasumi measures.  The shop is quiet and Kasumi can only hear his breathing, which is slow and calm.  This is definitely creepy.  Once she has handed back the measure and bought the batteries, she puts the goods she got in her bag and leaves for the gunshop.

Batteries x2 $20

Kasumi arrives at 22:25.  The place is dark and there are no people on the street.  She walks in the front door.  The owner, who is still behind the counter looks up from something at his desk.  There is noone else in the store.  The man with the eyepatch looks at Kasumi and says in Japanese, "Are you on the team that came through here just now, oneesan?  You want to practice too?  I'm surprised, thought you could shoot already.  Let's go."  He motions for her to go through the back door.

He teaches her with pistol and shotgun just like the others, but goes into more detail on stance and target acquisition, firing at multiple targets in turn.  Kasumi gains Advanced Gun-Training Advantage.  ((Same as before, but gains bonus when moving and when there are multiple hostiles.))

"You want a good knife?  Regular combat knife $300."  He draws a knife out from behind himself, "American duelling knife, $1000."  He looks at the blade as he turns it in the light in front of Kasumi.  Like a light that pulls moths from the inky darkness, it seems she brings out something in people.


Prices as before.
Combat helmet $500
Don't worry about gas mask filters, a mask will be fine for the duration of the game.

[Zako]

Kasumi gives the man a small smile before replying in Japanese. "You flatter me. I am with the previous group, if they are who I am thinking about, and I know that learning how to shoot even better than before is always preferable to sticking with what little skills you had."

She looks over the knife the man holds, nodding in appreciation.

"A fine knife, but I am afraid that I am on a tight budget at this moment in time. Perhaps when I have more money and time on my hands? In any case, I'll just take these."

Buy the following:
Double barrelled shotgun
30 shells
Combat knife
Gas Mask
Entrenching tool
Safety Goggles

Thank the man for his business and head to the drug store, pronto. Once I'm there, look for a tough, water tight container and preserving fluid to hold the eyes safely, as well as a small ruler for measuring them.

[DaveTheGrave]

Tyler follows behind corban to the store. Then wanders around and talks to people in the store.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Marcus slogs back to the hotel to drop off his items, dresses into something warmer, and then walks over to Kusanagi's Drug Store.

[LordBucket]

It's right next to the weapons store.  But if I take you, you have to promise to protect me.
They aren't the only ones who go there at night.  Do you want to go there?"

Look at her with an amused smile

"I'm pretty sure I've seen enough anime to know how this goes."

Clear my throat, then put one hand on my bicep and flex it, then strike a comically ridiculous sentai pose and shout loudly enough for everyone in the store to hear and look at her:

"Zettai Ni Mamoru!"

"That's what I'm supposed to say, right?" Stick my tongue out at her playfully.

Proceed to Bushido Battou

University will have to come after that. Apparently we're on a tight schedule.

protect me.  They aren't the only ones who go there at night.

Lengthy, but hilarious true story about Japan:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I once visited Tokyo and ended up in Shinjuku because it was the first city name I recognized when I got off the plane. Picked up a hotel map and saw an area labeled "Kabukicho." Now, as you might know, Kabuki is a type of Japanese theatre. You know, the one that isn't Noh drama. So naturally I assumed that Kabuki-cho was the theatre district.

No, turns out that Kabuicho is the red light district.

So there I was, first-time visitor wandering the streets of Japan looking for theatres, but for reasons I couldn't figure out people kept approaching me and talking to me, all friendly like. Well, hey...I figured maybe the Japanese aren't as shy as they're rumored to be. I'm a guest in their country and they'd just like to welcoming, right? So I mostly just smiled and nodded and thanked them for whatever they were saying and kept walking. Well eventually one girl walks up to me and starts talking in Japanese, but she doesn't go away and her body language makes it clear she's planning to have a full conversation. I have no idea what she's saying, but I hadn't yet realized that having taken a one semester college course and listened to a bunch of anime and Pimsleur CDs meant that I didn't speak enough Japanese to matter. But I had a pocket dictionary so I pulled it out and tried to figure out what she was saying, and what a "masagi" was, and why she kept saying it, and why the word wasn't in my dictionary. She was very helpful and we took turns looking up words in the dictionary trying to have a conversation. Well, eventually we eventually figured out that "masagi" meant "massage" and it wasn't in my dictionary because it was an english loanword. The girl was trying to get me to go into her massage parlour.

Some embarassment, a few apologies and several minutes later I back on my trip heading deeper into Kabukicho. And the further in I got, the less often the people approaching me were Japanese girls. Instead, there was a big scary black man stationed about every 50 feet or so , and s I walked by they'd each come and try to get me to go into their establishment. Fortunately they all spoke English, and I was able to avoid further complications...but it rapidly become obvious that wherever I was, it was not the theater district.

So...several days and an internet search later I figured out that Kabukicho was the red light district. But I still didn't understand why there was huge, english-speaking black men posted at regular intervals on  Tokyo street where nobody else spoke english. So I explained what had happened to the manager of the hostel I was staying at to ask why.

Que the following converstaion:

Him: "You went to Kabukicho?!?!?!"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "That's very bad! You shouldn't go there.  It's dangerous!"

Me: "Dangerous? Really? How dangerous? I mean, I live near Los Angeles."

Him: "If you go there they will be very mean to you! So impolite! Very dangerous."

Me: "...wait, you're saying it's dangerous because they'll be rude to me?"

Him: "Oh, yes! At Kabukicho, they hire Nigerians to bring in customers because they have no sense of personal space. Very good at getting customers to go in, and once inside they won't let you leave!"


Not "won't let you leave" as in lock you in a room and steal your kidneys. Rather, "won't let you leave" as in the hostess club girl will keep asking you to buy her drinks until you run out of money, and only a barbarian would say no in such a situation.

So, yeah. That's what passes for "dangerous" in Japan.

On a related note, never go to a hostess club. They are terribly dull, and their idea of "sexy and provocative" is a mostly clothed girl sitting close enough that maybe your thighs might touch, but probably not. And they give you suspicious looks if you have the audacity to put an arm around their shoulder. Because apparently that's way too intimate for a girl you're paying to pay attention to you.

He remembers the owner's comment about the police and is glad that it seems that no-one
will be stopping the guy running through the city carrying a big bag full of guns.

Relevent anecdote

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

So after my encounters in Kabukicho I didn't go back, but I did regularly return to Shinjuku, as it's something of a party town, and there's a lot to do there besides sit in moderately close proximity to mostly clothed women. One night I missed the last train back to where I was staying and got stranded overnight. Decided to just wait the ~5 hours for them to start again rather than spend $250 for a hotel room. Around 3-4am I was bored and tired of walking, and with pretty much everyplace closed I went to a subway entrance and sat down to wait.

So, maybe half an hour later a police officer strolled by. Here I am thinking, ok...foreigner hanging out in a subway entrance at 4am within walking distance of the red light district, I'm about to have a conversation with a Japanese police officer. Turns out, no...despite obviously seeing me, he made an obvious point of not looking even in my general direction, and walked by with his head held up and away to avoid eye contact.

So, yeah...not being stopped in Japan is easier than you might think. So far as I can tell the police are mostly there to give directions. (In Austin Powers voice) "But their clothes are absolutely smashing, baby!"

[hermes]

TURN 03 - Corban, Tyler and Marcus and Kasumi

Marcus slogs back to the hotel to drop off his items, dresses into something warmer, and then walks over to Kusanagi's Drug Store.

Tyler follows behind corban to the store. Then wanders around and talks to people in the store.

Figure out where cameras are and what they're covering, and figure out which customers will give him the least trouble should they see him do his thing.

Thank the man for his business and head to the drug store, pronto. Once I'm there, look for a tough, water tight container and preserving fluid to hold the eyes safely, as well as a small ruler for measuring them.

Walking around casual like, when the check-out lady is helping a customer, Corban snatches glances at the ceilings, corners, and other cutomers.  He sees one camera behind the counter and one on the opposite, far corner of the store.  Between them, they cover most of the store and certainly get everyone's faces, but they don't move and there are blind spots in some aisles.

Corban notices Marcus in the store, already there and browsing when he arrived, and Tyler walks in behind him.  Then Kasumi too.  They four nod conspiratorially.  The number of kleptomaniacs in the Stalker team is remarkably high, so they know how to support and cover for each other.

Tyler also sees Corban and Marcus and Kasumi, but decides to try talking to an elderly lady looking at shampoos.

"Hey old lady."  She looks up at the young man and stares in incomprehension.  She is bent over and has a dark wrinkled face.  Then something clicks,  "Ahh, hello!  Ufufu!"  Tyler and the lady talk about nothing at all, for he speaks in English and she in Japanese, and yet they seem delighted to be conversing like they haven't seen each other for years.  Or indeed, ever before.

Makoto says goodbye to another customer and looks around her store.  Of the remaining few customers she notes that three of them seem to be foreigners.  A little odd, but foreign tourists are always a little strange, asking for medicines or salves she has no idea what they want.  But they seem friendly, like the one talking to Mrs. Sasaki, and she never had any trouble before.  She picks up a basket from behind the counter filled with hair tonic and goes to refill a shelf near the checkout.

Kasumi finds the following items in the store:
A small, plastic, watertight lunchbox  $5
Some anti-septic fluid that might pass for embalming fluid  $5
A plastic tape measure (2m) $5

Spoiler: Kusanagi's Drug Store (click to show/hide)

Medical Gear
Adrenaline injection $300
Disinfectant $10
Bandage $5
Syringe $5
Medic's kit $300
Hypodermic needles (10) $5
Antibiotics (20 pills) $15
Iodine (100 capsules) $10
Insulin (20 doses) $10
Painkillers (20 pills) $15
Sleeping pills (20) $20
Stimulants (20 pills) $30
Sedatives (20 pills) $20

Food
Beef jerky $5
Canned food $5

[DaveTheGrave]

Stop talking to boring lady, look for blindspots in a different part of the store. Locate security, cameras, and tags/magnet strips on items.

[Zako]

Kasumi, deciding not to get in trouble over a simple drug store shoplifting, makes up her mind to get her stuff and leave for the hotel soon. She had a feeling that she would need as much sleep as she could get in the day to come.

Look for something that can help remove eyeballs in the drug store, and if it's something more suitable than a spoon then buy it, and also buy the box, anti-septic fluid and tape measure and then leave. On the way back to the hotel, see if I can buy a simple crowbar for cheap, and once I'm back, if there was nothing suitable for removing eyes in the drug store then steal 4 strong metal spoons from the hotel cutlery. Then put all my stuff in my room, pack my backpack with the big stuff and then go to sleep after setting my alarm for the morning.

[hector13]

Corban

Once he's figured out the blindspots, enters the aisle furthest from Makoto with the biggest one and, after making sure that no camera can see him, picks up something from the top shelf and fumbles it onto the floor. When he bends down to pick it up, make sure no-one is looking and slip something small into his pocket from the bottom shelf, using the skills he learned as a thief earlier in life. Replace what he dropped back onto the top shelf. Before leaving, picks up some beef jerky and some sedatives, and goes to pay for them.

Steal stuff, pay for stuff ($25). Smile at and thank Makoto. Leave quickly. Head back to the hotel.

((OOC: quite happy with a random something here, I'm stealing because I'm worried you might do something terrible to me if I don't  ))

Edit for character history nod.

[LordBucket]

Just on the off chance we're waiting on me, I submitted an action that got skipped in the update last week.

[hermes]

Sorry guys, mesa been busy.  Summer vacation and family stuff took me by surprise, also working a lot (getting home near midnight tonight)... So the next update will be, well, whenever I can get round to it.  Think one or two weeks.  Loved the anecdote LB 

[hector13]

Perhaps Oblivion-esque necromancy, but presumably we dead?