un: cantilena

[windsongs]

This might be a weird question but bear with me. I think some of us remember having a life before the one we've supposedly lived in Crane City or beyond. But does anyone remember dying? Literally dying or being led to believe you have.

I won't ask the specifics. You don't even need to tell me your name if you don't want to. Death is a very personal thing and one of the first things they teach you in my profession is to avoid asking direct questions about the event itself. But I've been turning the possibilities in my head and even the reincarnation angle doesn't really fit. If you've got any insights or ideas I'd love to hear them. Or if you know anything about the afterlife/netherworld in general. Either way, let's swap notes.

Comments

[windsongs]

[ To be fair, she didn't realize she was in the presence of Ramen Royalty here, or at least someone with enough social clout to clear a place out with little to no advance warning. If he only knew how much she indirectly contributed to his family's empire. All those nights she didn't feel like cooking...

Turning her attention back to him, surprise apparent on her face, she tries to smooth that over with a smile. But it comes off more sheepish than anything. ]

Why do I feel like I drew the short end when it comes to crazy backgrounds..?

[ Wanna trade? He can be a teacher and she can be a part of the Big Noodle operation in Crane City. ]

I guess that explains why you'd want to meet here. Do we have a time limit? How long before everybody comes back?

[nagano]

[ Her patronage is most appreciated, false world or otherwise. ]

Please. Being a big name isn't that glamorous. Do you know how many phone calls I have to take at all hours? I miss things back home when I ran my own business...

[ Yeah, Kaito doesn't get much sleep here either, but it's for completely different reasons now. Thanks, Ramen Yakuza life. ]

We have another two hours. You can take your time here.

[ The scrape of plastic feet on concrete signals Kaito pushing out of his stool so he can step around the stall's counter. ]

So, what's the songbird looking for? Want a drink? We've got cheap beer, cheaper beer, some knockoff brand of sake...

[windsongs]

I'll take constant phone calls over grading papers and praying for a tenure position any day of the week.

[ She's mostly joking here. Some job security and a reliable paycheck would be nice, but Hibiki doesn't envy him here. Giving up his family business to manage another that he has only a tenuous tie to has to be hard, she can only imagine.

Watching him round the counter, a small smile slides onto her face as she finally starts to relax. Good. That's plenty of time. ]

Let's go with your second-cheapest beer. [ Wow, big spender! ]

...Actually, how much is all this? I usually just get a plain bowl.

[nagano]

What, you don't thrive under that kind of pressure?

[ His tongue pokes out as some (real) sleight-of-hand comes into play to make it look like he just slipped out a bottle of Crane City's Finest from his coat sleeve.

Wait. She's Nightfell CRAU, not PSL. She doesn't even know—

A quick tug against a nearby bottle opener has the liquor's vapors wafting from its vessel. ]

Here you go, our second-cheapest beer. Wonder why they call it Crane City's Finest if that's the case. As for the food? It's, uh...

[ Oh, he knows the answer right away. The pause is coming from how jarring it is to have that memory just kinda existing when he knew he'd never heard of this place in his Real Life before. ]

Probably only eight bucks more than a usual bowl? Got it as an extra large and doubled the tonkatsu on the side. Not that you're paying tonight anyway, y'hear?

[windsongs]

[ Hibiki smirks, reaching for her chopsticks and splitting them perfectly in half. ]

That's what they say about any cheap alcohol, doesn't matter where you are. Pretty sure you can't tell the difference after a couple anyway, so it might as well be true.

[ Scooping up some hot noods, Hibiki gawks at him as he rattles off the price. Not that he knows it off the top of his head, but EIGHT BUCKS MORE?! Never mind that he's paying for it (they'll get to that one later). ]

.......You know I'm a teacher, right?

[ Not everyone is pulling in Noodle Cartel money, Kaito! But also she is not leaving even a speck in this bowl. Her overly-cheap soul won't allow it! ]