[Okay that's not entirely surprising considering he's opened a bar here. She stills momentarily and then turns to face him with a surprised expression at the rest.]
[Her cheeks flush a little and she looks away because - okay she hangs out with nerds and maybe she's a nerd, too.]
I read a lot. [A lot. English is her favorite and best subject, because it's easy for her to get lost in a story, regardless of its format - fiction, non-fiction, poetry - she's not all that picky about it. When you need an escape, you use whatever's handy. Also...]
[ There was a flicker of some unidentifiable emotion in his eye; Max had hit upon something... complicated. ]
Most times, you're dealin' with other guys in about the same boat. Sometimes it's a loan shark that owes your boss money, and ya gotta rough him up to make him pay what he borrowed. Sometimes it's a rival clan.
Guns're restricted in Japan, and no one wants a dead body and the cops up in their business. So actual hitmen're pretty rare.
[She looks from the device and his explanation up to him, meeting his eyes and nodding slightly. She offers him a faint smile before looking back down and typing up a message.]
Weren't you afraid of what they might do if you didn't follow orders?
[ Questions he wasn't really sure how to answer for 500, Alex. The truth was that the likelihood of death or dying hadn't played much part in Majima's personal decisions for some time now.
And what did he have to be afraid of now that he'd already paid the price? ]
When ya take an oath like that, you gotta accept that things like that might happen -- and take responsibility for 'em. That's all it is, when ya come down to it.
[ What struck him as so strange about Max and the others was how calm they were, how curious. Because they'd faced death before? Monsters? Maybe it gave you perspective. ]
[He's so nonchalant about the possibility of dying that it unsettles her. She's not that nonchalant about the possibility of dying. She has no desire to die. It scares the hell out of her.]
I knew there was a story behind the fighting and the weapons stuff. I just wasn't sure what it was until now.
[Granted, right now it's kind of hard to picture considering there's a rabbit in his coat.]
[Isn't that kind of how she'd started out, too? Met a weird old guy who was running a fight club? And no, she's not thinking about Mike.]
Now I know.
[She glances at him, giving him a quick smile before turning to peruse books once more until she finds one that says "Bunnies for Beginners." She holds it up then types back another message.]
Okay so...what about you? Do you have questions for me?
[She glances down as the rabbit hops along and then looks back at Majima for a moment.
It's only fair, really. Since she'd asked him a pretty personal question that he'd answered. She considers for a moment, then types up a message.]
My mom and I don't really have that much in common and mostly I try to avoid my stepdad. Billy's harder to avoid. They basically make him try to look after me.
[Aka, breathe down her neck 24/7 and control her as much as he possibly can.]
[God. The very thought of Billy showing up here is her literal worst nightmare. It's something she tries really hard not to get to her but there are moments when a bunch of new people flood in that she's sure he's going to be one of them and she's paralyzed by anxiety over it. So far she's been lucky. They've all been lucky. Billy showing up here would be a disaster in so many ways simply because he has no control over his temper when he gets pissed. And he gets pissed a lot.]
He likes making my life hell so the latter, probably.
[She's not sure if it's because he's a literal sadist or if it's because he has so little control over his own life that he prefers controlling hers because it's allowed. Encouraged, even, by his dad.]
[Eddie said the same thing. That people here would step up to the plate in ways that her own family wouldn't. She believes it. Maybe especially from Majima.
Her chest tightens at his reassurance, though. She's tried telling herself not to get attached to people here, but...it keeps happening anyway.]
[ Majima still wasn't sure if it was a coincidence that so many of the arrivals here came from families that were strained, broken, or worse. He'd always had the idea that people outside the Champion District, or places like it, did enjoy the support of those picture-perfect families. Complete with smiling parents and 2.5 kids.
But maybe it was more common than he'd assumed: painful silences, anger, blame.
Whatever the case, he'd survived to find people to care about. And having found them, he was that much more determined to hold onto those attachments, to do whatever he could to help. ]
You're welcome.
[ He smiled warmly at her; though brief, the expression banished some of the old shadow from his face. ]
Alright, so let's see how these bunny houses're supposed to work. Any plans in that book of yours?
[She hasn't spent a lot of time thinking about that, partially because she's done her best to keep her own background quiet overall - because it's what she's used to doing. She knows a little about Eddie's life, about Jake's and Eleven's, but she's largely in the dark about the rest.
She just knows she has no desire to go home, even if here is terrible in its own ways. But she smiles back at Majima when he smiles at her, and then she opens the book, flipping through the pages until she comes to the chapters on housing.]
[ He picked up the purple rabbit, who peered over the edge of his hand at the plans as if perusing them as well... at least until the bunny started nibbling at the edge of a page.
Majima lifted him safely out of reach. ]
Guess he likes the design. Alright, should we head back? We'll have to scare up some materials first -- probably ask the construction guys if they can spare some scrap wood.
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2018-04-09 02:49 am (UTC)From:That's like the mafia right?
[Holy shit, Majima.
...actually that explains a lot...]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-09 03:10 am (UTC)From:[ Usually this was the part where he had to explain what the heck the yakuza was. ]
But yeah. I was an enforcer with the Shimano family up until a couple years ago.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-09 03:27 am (UTC)From:I read a lot. [A lot. English is her favorite and best subject, because it's easy for her to get lost in a story, regardless of its format - fiction, non-fiction, poetry - she's not all that picky about it. When you need an escape, you use whatever's handy. Also...]
And my friend Lucas likes history a lot.
[She glances at him again, raising her eyebrows.]
Are we talking...more of a bodyguard or a hitman?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-09 04:06 am (UTC)From:Most times, you're dealin' with other guys in about the same boat. Sometimes it's a loan shark that owes your boss money, and ya gotta rough him up to make him pay what he borrowed. Sometimes it's a rival clan.
Guns're restricted in Japan, and no one wants a dead body and the cops up in their business. So actual hitmen're pretty rare.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-10 02:37 am (UTC)From:I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought you were a hitman.
[She really didn't. Until he'd mentioned the yakuza she never would have jumped to that idea.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-10 03:33 am (UTC)From:There's nothin' to be sorry about. Yer part right, anyway. My bosses did order me to kill people. Twice.
[ Now didn't seem like the time to be looking for books, so instead he merely turned to face her, moving no closer or further away. ]
But for one reason or other, I never did end up goin' through with it.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-10 11:49 pm (UTC)From:Weren't you afraid of what they might do if you didn't follow orders?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 12:15 am (UTC)From:And what did he have to be afraid of now that he'd already paid the price? ]
When ya take an oath like that, you gotta accept that things like that might happen -- and take responsibility for 'em. That's all it is, when ya come down to it.
[ What struck him as so strange about Max and the others was how calm they were, how curious. Because they'd faced death before? Monsters? Maybe it gave you perspective. ]
You don't seem too surprised.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 12:31 am (UTC)From:I knew there was a story behind the fighting and the weapons stuff. I just wasn't sure what it was until now.
[Granted, right now it's kind of hard to picture considering there's a rabbit in his coat.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 05:56 am (UTC)From:Well. Most of the weapons stuff I know, I learned it after I was out.
Met a weird old guy who was into martial arts, he started introducin' me to his acquaintances... kinda snowballed from there.
[ There was a tinge of fondness to his expression as that particularly message appeared on the devices. ]
Anyway, now ya know.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 07:34 pm (UTC)From:Oh.
[Isn't that kind of how she'd started out, too? Met a weird old guy who was running a fight club? And no, she's not thinking about Mike.]
Now I know.
[She glances at him, giving him a quick smile before turning to peruse books once more until she finds one that says "Bunnies for Beginners." She holds it up then types back another message.]
Okay so...what about you? Do you have questions for me?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 12:39 am (UTC)From:Guess I was kinda wonderin' about your family situation. Y'know, how big a jerk yer brother was, or if you were okay livin' with your mom.
You ain't have to tell me, though. Don't see much point in bringing up bad memories.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 02:06 am (UTC)From:It's only fair, really. Since she'd asked him a pretty personal question that he'd answered. She considers for a moment, then types up a message.]
My mom and I don't really have that much in common and mostly I try to avoid my stepdad. Billy's harder to avoid. They basically make him try to look after me.
[Aka, breathe down her neck 24/7 and control her as much as he possibly can.]
We hate each other. He's an asshole.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 05:19 pm (UTC)From:That blows.
[ It made sense, though, that Max gave off the impression that she could and did take care of herself -- it sounded like she'd basically had to. ]
If he ever showed up here, you think he'd shove off to do his own thing, or get up in your face about it?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 06:11 pm (UTC)From:He likes making my life hell so the latter, probably.
[She's not sure if it's because he's a literal sadist or if it's because he has so little control over his own life that he prefers controlling hers because it's allowed. Encouraged, even, by his dad.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 09:23 pm (UTC)From:If he ever does show up here, it ain't gonna be like back home. Plenty of people around to tell him to step off if he makes trouble.
And remember you can call me anytime, okay? 'bout anything.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 02:42 am (UTC)From:Her chest tightens at his reassurance, though. She's tried telling herself not to get attached to people here, but...it keeps happening anyway.]
Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 06:48 am (UTC)From:But maybe it was more common than he'd assumed: painful silences, anger, blame.
Whatever the case, he'd survived to find people to care about. And having found them, he was that much more determined to hold onto those attachments, to do whatever he could to help. ]
You're welcome.
[ He smiled warmly at her; though brief, the expression banished some of the old shadow from his face. ]
Alright, so let's see how these bunny houses're supposed to work. Any plans in that book of yours?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 11:53 pm (UTC)From:She just knows she has no desire to go home, even if here is terrible in its own ways. But she smiles back at Majima when he smiles at her, and then she opens the book, flipping through the pages until she comes to the chapters on housing.]
Looks like there are some different options.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 03:00 am (UTC)From:Oh, so they're called hutches.
Well, either way it's a house, right? So it should have a roof and not just a bunch of netting.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-17 01:21 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-04-17 02:54 am (UTC)From:Majima lifted him safely out of reach. ]
Guess he likes the design. Alright, should we head back? We'll have to scare up some materials first -- probably ask the construction guys if they can spare some scrap wood.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-17 10:04 pm (UTC)From:[She pets the rabbit gently before hugging the book to her chest and heading toward the door.]