[BITPR²] Kyuukyoku Gaiden: The Beachdown Apocalypse

[Kuroimaken]

He sure moved away fast.

Koutarou decides to count his blessings, eat away and try to figure his way out of this mess.

Mostly by trying to remember what he was up to 5 years ago today. Unsurprisingly, he's coming up empty.

[Frozen_Feet]

The cashier soon forgets about him due to having other customers to serve. Some passers-by still give him odd looks 'cause he hasn't put his new clothes on yet, but most are too busy minding their own business to care. They walk in and out of the shop, just like on any other day.

[Kuroimaken]

Koutarou finds himself a discrete place to put his new duds on, making a mental note to find a forest somewhere to plunder for fruit. He can't depend on the kindness of strangers forever.

[Frozen_Feet]

There certainly was no shortage of forestland when he flew here. Just... what kind of fruit is he thinking of finding in a coniferous forest at the start of April?

[Kuroimaken]

Well, all sorts of herbivorous species dwell in forests. All a matter of figuring out what they eat.

Failing that, he could always look for another Shinigami, try to get in touch with Soul Society and discover what the heck happened.

[Frozen_Feet]

One could almost call it a plan. So what's going to be his first step? There's a wide variety of shops and restaurants nearby, but he of course still has no money. Outside, the streets bask in light of the afternoon sun. If he walked around a bit, he could see the harbor.

[Kuroimaken]

Longshoreman work never hurt anybody. Might as well ask.

[Frozen_Feet]

Suuure.

But who is he going to ask?

The harbor area is vast. As Koutarou walks towards it, he gets to see some pretty scenery. To his left, there is a wooded hill, on which stands a grey castle-like building. Beyond it, a small river runs into the sea, with sailboats and other smaller vessels docked on the banks.

Ahead is vast asphalt parking lot and the port terminal for passengers, as well as some old brick warehouses which have been repurposed to serve for lodging and entertainment. Behind them towers a great white shape of a docked cruise ship.

Far to the right is an even vaster asphalt field, where passengers cars, buses and cargo trucks wait for their turn to drive into the hold of the docked ship. More modern, steel warehouses can be seen past them, along with stacks of cargo containers. Lifting cranes, marker beacons and other equipment litter the coast line.

[Kuroimaken]

It's simple, really: all he needs to do is find a boat that's unloading cargo, and then ask whoever's unloading who the boss is.

Really, it's not rocket science.

[Frozen_Feet]

Well, if he walks towards the loading area, he can see that some trucks are driving out of the ship's load also. It appears the drivers are working mostly autonomously though, with traffic lights directing the flow of traffic. The first place where he can see people dealing with people is a customs booth where some sort of official is checking the drivers' papers.

[Kuroimaken]

Might as well go ask them.

Really, he's got nothing to lose at this point.

[Frozen_Feet]

At first, the people involved pay no attention to approachin Koutarou. Koutarou hears them reach some sort of agreement, papers are swapped, and the driver goes on his merry way. At this point, as the next truck is moving ahead in the line, the customs official spots Koutarou... and then stops to stare at him in confusion.

The unvoiced question hangs heavy in the air: who is he, and what is he doing here?

So what's he gonna say?

[Kuroimaken]

"Evening. Is there a recruitment office nearby? I'm afraid I'm new to town, and I'm looking for work."

[Frozen_Feet]

The official looks at dully for a few moments. It's clear this is not a question they were expecting to be asked. "Uh... I don't... you mean, like a job center?" They point into the distance, towards the hill Koutarou walked past on his way here.

"You see Åbo castle over there? Slottsgatan goes right past it on this side of the hill - I mean, you probably followed it part way here? So yeah, just get on Slottsgatan and keep walking straight, past the castle and all. The center is along there somewhere."

[Kuroimaken]

"Ah, alright. I figured I'd ask for something here. I kinda got robbed, so I don't have any documentation whatsoever. Would be an easier shot to look for work right where people were already working." Koutarou admits.

[Frozen_Feet]

"Robbed?", the official asks, raising an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're more in need of the police, than a recruiter."

[Kuroimaken]

"Already talked to the police. What I need now is money so I don't have to sleep in the streets tonight. I can work on my documentation tomorrow." Koutarou replies.

[Frozen_Feet]

The custom official's eyes narrow. "Uh huh. And what did the police say?" Koutarou might notice their hand is inching towards a phone...

[Kuroimaken]

"What else would they say? They'll try to catch the guy." Koutarou makes his best impression of someone who is desolate towards the official. "Look, it's okay, I get it. Someone you've never even heard of shows up, no ID, nothing, asking for work, I'd be suspicious too. I won't be any trouble if you've got nothing for me."

[Frozen_Feet]

The next truck driver is already waiting in the line. They're peering from the window of their driver's cabin, wondering what the Hell is up with Koutarou and the official.

The customs official rests one hand on the phone and points at Koutarou with the other. "See, if you were legally in the country, the police would've figured out who you are and issued you temporary identification", the say plainly. "You speak so well, you had me thinking you were a native. But the way you act, it's clear you're not from here. You say you want no trouble, but that's not really in my hands. I've got a job to do."

[Kuroimaken]

"Sorry to bother you." Koutarou replies, walking away.

What to do, indeed. He should probably consider looking for the next town over. That ought to give him a better clue of what to do - failing that, he could always start by going to the police station.

[Frozen_Feet]

The customs official leers suspicuously after Koutarou, untill the next trucker in line steps out to get their papers checked.

As Koutarou walks, he spots two bulky guys on the doors of the passenger terminal. Probably members of the building's security, based on their get up. They seem to be listening intently to their earpieces. When one of them spots Koutarou, he points at his direction. At this distance, Koutarou doesn't quite hear what they're saying, but he can guess it's about him and nothing flattering.

[Kuroimaken]

Like that's going to be a problem. He's got nothing to hide and no need to run. If he has to, there are about a hundred ways he can outsmart or outmatch them.

He just keeps walking away.

[Frozen_Feet]

As the guards see Koutarou's just going to go on his way and not pester anyone, they promptly lose interest in him. But where is he going to go now?

[Kuroimaken]

He may as well try and find if this city has any homeless shelters. Right now, he pretty much is one, and the night promises to be very, very cold.

[Frozen_Feet]

The good news is that a city of this size is pretty much guaranteed to have such a shelter. The bad news is that he still has no clue where it is.

Around Koutarou, afternoon is slowly turning into evening, the sun inching towards the sea again. As he walks back past the parking lot, he can see quite a few people who arrived with the ship climbing into their cars and driving away. He spots a roadsign reading "Linnankatu - Slottsgatan" pointing along the widest road. The hill and the grey castle on top of it loom ahead, beyond them, the rest of the city.

[Kuroimaken]

Koutarou reads the roadsign aloud, trying to make sense of the language. It's only around then he notices he hasn't really been communicating in Japanese or even English this entire time. Given the circumstances around him, he hadn't really paid that much attention to it.

For the sake of curiosity, he looks for a mirror or glass window to see if this gigai even looks like his usual self.

[Frozen_Feet]

Maybe he should've done that when he was shopping for clothes.

Oh well. As Koutarou walks along thw road, he has many opportunities to watch his reflection from the windows of nearby buildings, the side mirrors of parked cars, or he could even walk to the bank of the river and look at his reflection in the water. On the upside, his new clothes fit him snugly. On the downside, his hair looks quite bad, due to running in extreme weather at extreme speeds. But, at least he can recognize himself from the image.

[Kuroimaken]

It's not like that was his biggest priority, really.

Asking around, he makes finding such a shelter his priority. It's getting dark, after all.

[Frozen_Feet]

The people he asks direct him to some place called "Sillankorva". Luckily for him, it's only four and half kilometers away and he can make almost the entire journey following the street he's on first, then continuing to walk along the bank of the river.

The place turns out to be a set of low, wooden rowhouses, serving as open-at-all-hours first-response shelter for people in acute need of lodging. Exactlt what Koutarou was hoping for.