Post by Akira Hinosai on Jan 22, 2022 21:35:24 GMT -5
Luca didn't need a long and storied resume to know that working sucked. He was lucky enough to have his gig at Uzaki Enterprises, and that mostly kept him afloat. Still, the money he was piling up was coming in way too slow. Especially compared to the things he wanted to buy. For almost all of his time in Karakura, Luca had been relying on his own strength. He could train and trail all day, but there were other ways to increase one's power. For the right price, one could purchase items to do any number of things. When preparing for his infiltration of the seireitei, Luca discovered a device capable of making portals to other realms, and devices that could help disguise one's spiritual energy.
As it stood, he was in need of a new Interdimensional Doorknob. Maybe more. No matter how strong he was, the right tools for the job could make him stronger. There was just one problem standing in his way. He had basically no money. He was seriously broke. Not "destitute living on the streets, eating cabbage soup" broke, but he wouldn't be making any major purchases any time soon. In the black market, you needed some serious overhead to get anything worth while. Luca might have been saving up, but he could never catch up to those around him unless he was proactive. Seriously, how does everyone get so rich anyway? Stupid long-lived assholes. I bet they're just living off interest of shit they deposited decades ago.
Luca was something of a prolific thief, but he had to be careful. If he stole too much, it would get noticed, and he'd certainly draw attention from Irina. If a thieving spree wasn't on the table, he could try some cool illegal jobs. Even if it was just guarding a yakuza boss, it would be better than his last job at that stupid butler cafe. Except getting a job working in the criminal world was hard. You actually had to know people, and moreover, have them trust and vouch for you. That was assuming whoever you knew was even hiring. They don't just take any dickwad off the street! As it stood, Luca had no connections. So getting a job that was cool was hard.
Luca only knew a few low-level street pushers from Oasis Sky. No matter how desperate he was, he would never work with Soul Traffickers. There was Kitai too, but Luca wasn't about to go that way. Whatever jobs Kitai of all people saw fit to relegate to other people weren't the sort of thing Luca wanted to be mixed up in. Though if he had to get in touch with someone, he did have one ace up his sleeve. Luca knew just the place. As Amare would say "a tavern of unsavory repute" Odds are SOMEONE knew something Luca could do besides pick up the wallets of people he beat up in self defense.
Luca only knew a few low-level street pushers from Oasis Sky. No matter how desperate he was, he would never work with Soul Traffickers. There was Kitai too, but Luca wasn't about to go that way. Whatever jobs Kitai of all people saw fit to relegate to other people weren't the sort of thing Luca wanted to be mixed up in. Though if he had to get in touch with someone, he did have one ace up his sleeve. Luca knew just the place. As Amare would say "a tavern of unsavory repute" Odds are SOMEONE knew something Luca could do besides pick up the wallets of people he beat up in self defense.
Luca pulled up a seat at the bar. At early afternoon on a weekday, the entire scene was beyond dead. Karakura's Light Music Club set up their instruments on stage. They seemed to be preparing for the ever coveted "Tuesday Night at a shitty underground club frequented by computer geeks, wannabe fullbringers, and junkies" gig. Everyone has to start somewhere, I guess. Luca mostly ignored them as he waited for the bartender to return. When she did, she eyed Luca suspiciously. "The bar isn't open yet, you know."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not here for drinks...I'm here for the other thing you deal in." she looked incredulous. "Come on, secret off the maps club, not compliant with fire regulations, and home to weirdos and outcasts. Come on, don't hold out on me..." Luca waited for her to respond, only to see she wasn't biting. "Work, I'm looking for work. You know, like off the books, cash in hand, questionably legal work. Look I know at least one of the people who owns this place smuggles drugs! Come on, am I speaking greek to you or something?" Everyone had to start somewhere. If there was a different way to get his foot in the door, Luca didn't know it. He didn't care if it was awkward, he only cared if he got results.
The bartender smirked. She was an average looking woman, maybe 10 years older than Luca. Her hair was cut to a short bob with streaks of red. She had a stereotypical bartender's outfit, right down to the bowtie. Perhaps her most notable feature, the singular clue that she wasn't all that she seemed was the small tattoo on her left hand. In japan, that was a sure sign someone had ties to organized crime. Most of the time, anyway. "I might know some jobs like that."
"Tell me I'm not gonna have to pay you for the information."
"No, no, nothing like that, I just want to make sure you're up for it...You can't go blabbing about this."
With that, Luca's attention was piqued. He could imagine all sorts of very illegal, very lucrative jobs that would more than pay for anything he wanted. He leaned in closer. "Hell yeah, I'm in! They aren't gonna ask for ID, right?"
"No...Come closer, the job is...Helping a benefactor of this place out by doing some janitorial work."
"Look, when you said you knew some jobs, I assumed you were talking about bounty hunting, gun running, MAYBE drug smuggling! BUT JANITORIAL WORK?!? THAT'S THIRD WORLD, AND I'M FROM THE FIRST!" for whatever reason, his outburst went unnoticed by the band, which at this point was tuning their instruments.
She laughed at that. "You could always go back to working at that butler cafe..." she put emphasis on those two words. "If you want to know a secret, it's so a certain anonymous benefactor can raise some property values over in Naruki...and maybe find someone for more...exciting jobs. Come on, no one else will do it!"
"How much?" After which she quickly told him. In spite of himself, in spite of everything he knew, he was actually considering it. "You're evil." Luca sighed as he realized he was actually going to accept the offer. "Fine, tell your yakuza boss and/or drug dealer I'll be there..."
With that, the bartender smiled. "Oh cheer up, kid, you're doing me a service too!"
"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better about this."
The way Luca was approaching this was simple. Maximize profits, minimize effort. Before even heading to Naruki city, he went to work constructing an apparatus to make his job as simple as possible. Using soul command, he wove two cuts of rope trough a large plastic container to create a trashcan backpack. By most standards, it was a simple, crude design, but it suited Luca's purposed just well. The idea was that he could use soul command to lift pieces of trash directly into the container. Sure, Naruki City was full of people, but Luca knew he could obscure his intentions. If he wanted to act unseen, he could, and with ease.
"Yeah, I know. I'm not here for drinks...I'm here for the other thing you deal in." she looked incredulous. "Come on, secret off the maps club, not compliant with fire regulations, and home to weirdos and outcasts. Come on, don't hold out on me..." Luca waited for her to respond, only to see she wasn't biting. "Work, I'm looking for work. You know, like off the books, cash in hand, questionably legal work. Look I know at least one of the people who owns this place smuggles drugs! Come on, am I speaking greek to you or something?" Everyone had to start somewhere. If there was a different way to get his foot in the door, Luca didn't know it. He didn't care if it was awkward, he only cared if he got results.
The bartender smirked. She was an average looking woman, maybe 10 years older than Luca. Her hair was cut to a short bob with streaks of red. She had a stereotypical bartender's outfit, right down to the bowtie. Perhaps her most notable feature, the singular clue that she wasn't all that she seemed was the small tattoo on her left hand. In japan, that was a sure sign someone had ties to organized crime. Most of the time, anyway. "I might know some jobs like that."
"Tell me I'm not gonna have to pay you for the information."
"No, no, nothing like that, I just want to make sure you're up for it...You can't go blabbing about this."
With that, Luca's attention was piqued. He could imagine all sorts of very illegal, very lucrative jobs that would more than pay for anything he wanted. He leaned in closer. "Hell yeah, I'm in! They aren't gonna ask for ID, right?"
"No...Come closer, the job is...Helping a benefactor of this place out by doing some janitorial work."
"Look, when you said you knew some jobs, I assumed you were talking about bounty hunting, gun running, MAYBE drug smuggling! BUT JANITORIAL WORK?!? THAT'S THIRD WORLD, AND I'M FROM THE FIRST!" for whatever reason, his outburst went unnoticed by the band, which at this point was tuning their instruments.
She laughed at that. "You could always go back to working at that butler cafe..." she put emphasis on those two words. "If you want to know a secret, it's so a certain anonymous benefactor can raise some property values over in Naruki...and maybe find someone for more...exciting jobs. Come on, no one else will do it!"
"How much?" After which she quickly told him. In spite of himself, in spite of everything he knew, he was actually considering it. "You're evil." Luca sighed as he realized he was actually going to accept the offer. "Fine, tell your yakuza boss and/or drug dealer I'll be there..."
With that, the bartender smiled. "Oh cheer up, kid, you're doing me a service too!"
"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better about this."
The way Luca was approaching this was simple. Maximize profits, minimize effort. Before even heading to Naruki city, he went to work constructing an apparatus to make his job as simple as possible. Using soul command, he wove two cuts of rope trough a large plastic container to create a trashcan backpack. By most standards, it was a simple, crude design, but it suited Luca's purposed just well. The idea was that he could use soul command to lift pieces of trash directly into the container. Sure, Naruki City was full of people, but Luca knew he could obscure his intentions. If he wanted to act unseen, he could, and with ease.
He dressed for the occasion, wearing a sky blue raincoat and notably, no gloves. Luca sure as shooting didn't need gloves when he didn't plan on getting his hands dirty. Altogether, the outfit was designed to conceal his weapons and also keep his clothes from getting ruined. By noon he had entered the part of Naruki he was supposed to clean. It was said that Naruki City was Karakura's sleazy deadbeat older brother. Naruki High was full of delinquents and gyarus and apparently it was home to yakuza and small time gangs of highschoolers. In the grand cosmic sense, it was nowhere near as significant as Karakura. Luca had been here before, but it was always for brief investigations or purchases of illicit goods.
The "trash picking up job" went well at first. It was dead simple, and Luca's powers made it even simpler. It was mostly akin to a long, slow walk with collectables in the form of trash. Luca could just put his headphones in and go to town on every piece of refuse he saw. He quickly realized he could make a game out of it. He pretended he got points for each piece of trash he floated into his trashcan-backpack. Though it wasn't long before Luca noticed a certain opportunity. Recyclables. Back in California there used to be places at convenience stores where you could put glass and plastic bottles and get small amounts of money dispensed for your troubles.
Luca had yet to see something like that in japan, but he figured he could still get paid for turning them in to the can refinery. A quick google search confirmed this. It wasn't as though he was getting paid per mass of trash he turned in. Just for the act of removing the trash. As the bartender said, Luca's work would be verified soon after the job was flagged as complete. So, with this in mind, Luca quickly took a break, going to a local grocery store, and appropriating some large trash bags. With that, he began to separate trash from recyclables. It was amazing what people would leave on the street. Namely, coins. Luca quickly noticed the sheer mass of coins people just left around.
If you knew where to look, you were sure to find them, no matter what urban center you were in. With that, Luca found his second extra-curricular income-booster. Sure, it wasn't much, but it added up. By this point, the game he'd thought up in his head was getting exciting. Depending on what he picked up, the more points he got. Coins were worth the most points, followed by recyclables, followed by regular trash. Of course, the first chance he got to examine his haul, he realized how little it actually was. If he was lucky, he could maybe buy some lunch with it. In the economy of the spirit world, this was nothing.
Even after finding a 500 yen coin, Luca was still very aware how little money he was making. After pulling some coins into his pocket from under a vending machine he came to a sudden realization. This thing is probably loaded with yen! Back in Karakura, Luca would sometimes use and abuse his powers to get free drinks and maybe even some money from vending machines. Though if he could help it, he preferred not to rip them open and grab all the money. After all, it would be really inconvenient if the vending machine's owners decided to stop repairing them. Then where would Luca get his free drinks?
This wasn't Karakura. Luca didn't live here, making a few busted vending machines someone else's problem entirely! Holding the machine in place with one hand, Luca pried off the front of the machine, and began rooting around and breaking shit until he found the place cash was stored in it. Low and behold, he quickly found more money in a single vending machine than he had scouring the streets for spare change and what pittance he would get from the recycling center too. From there, Luca pulled the same stunt on two other vending machines, collectively making enough to fill his pockets. By the end of the day, Luca had more or less cleaned his assigned slice of Naruki City.
With that, Luca began the long trek home, while carrying an inhumane amount of trash, and recyclables. He made his way to the Recycling center first Of course, he had to leave Karakura to do that. It was a long and boring walk. Anyone else would have found the load Luca was carrying heavy, but Luca was a fucking god compared to normal people. Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen to him while walking to the recycling center. The whole affair got him no shortage of sideways glances, but he didn't care. He needed this money to buy illegal shit to get stronger. Luca did the things he had to do to get the money owed to him, and left.
The final stop was to finish up the trash collecting thing and collect his money. All in all, the first day did net Luca more than the average wage slave got in a day. Plus it was pretty much tax free. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next. Maybe there would be more bitch work before he was allowed to participate in the holy trifecta of bounty hunting, gun running, and drug smuggling. For now he could take comfort in the money he had. Maybe he could go gambling. He was certain he could put his skills to work there...It was worth considering. For now though, Luca walked back to Uzaki Enterprises to rest after a hard day's work maximizing profits and minimizing effort...
Luca had yet to see something like that in japan, but he figured he could still get paid for turning them in to the can refinery. A quick google search confirmed this. It wasn't as though he was getting paid per mass of trash he turned in. Just for the act of removing the trash. As the bartender said, Luca's work would be verified soon after the job was flagged as complete. So, with this in mind, Luca quickly took a break, going to a local grocery store, and appropriating some large trash bags. With that, he began to separate trash from recyclables. It was amazing what people would leave on the street. Namely, coins. Luca quickly noticed the sheer mass of coins people just left around.
If you knew where to look, you were sure to find them, no matter what urban center you were in. With that, Luca found his second extra-curricular income-booster. Sure, it wasn't much, but it added up. By this point, the game he'd thought up in his head was getting exciting. Depending on what he picked up, the more points he got. Coins were worth the most points, followed by recyclables, followed by regular trash. Of course, the first chance he got to examine his haul, he realized how little it actually was. If he was lucky, he could maybe buy some lunch with it. In the economy of the spirit world, this was nothing.
Even after finding a 500 yen coin, Luca was still very aware how little money he was making. After pulling some coins into his pocket from under a vending machine he came to a sudden realization. This thing is probably loaded with yen! Back in Karakura, Luca would sometimes use and abuse his powers to get free drinks and maybe even some money from vending machines. Though if he could help it, he preferred not to rip them open and grab all the money. After all, it would be really inconvenient if the vending machine's owners decided to stop repairing them. Then where would Luca get his free drinks?
This wasn't Karakura. Luca didn't live here, making a few busted vending machines someone else's problem entirely! Holding the machine in place with one hand, Luca pried off the front of the machine, and began rooting around and breaking shit until he found the place cash was stored in it. Low and behold, he quickly found more money in a single vending machine than he had scouring the streets for spare change and what pittance he would get from the recycling center too. From there, Luca pulled the same stunt on two other vending machines, collectively making enough to fill his pockets. By the end of the day, Luca had more or less cleaned his assigned slice of Naruki City.
With that, Luca began the long trek home, while carrying an inhumane amount of trash, and recyclables. He made his way to the Recycling center first Of course, he had to leave Karakura to do that. It was a long and boring walk. Anyone else would have found the load Luca was carrying heavy, but Luca was a fucking god compared to normal people. Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen to him while walking to the recycling center. The whole affair got him no shortage of sideways glances, but he didn't care. He needed this money to buy illegal shit to get stronger. Luca did the things he had to do to get the money owed to him, and left.
The final stop was to finish up the trash collecting thing and collect his money. All in all, the first day did net Luca more than the average wage slave got in a day. Plus it was pretty much tax free. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next. Maybe there would be more bitch work before he was allowed to participate in the holy trifecta of bounty hunting, gun running, and drug smuggling. For now he could take comfort in the money he had. Maybe he could go gambling. He was certain he could put his skills to work there...It was worth considering. For now though, Luca walked back to Uzaki Enterprises to rest after a hard day's work maximizing profits and minimizing effort...
