text; [you tried] sticker goes here

[ourtomorrow]

My name is Ken. I need a job and a roommate.

[ ...that's it, right? Those were the first steps recommended to him, and they make sense. If this world can only be saved by people touching, then first Ken has to find people he's comfortable enough around to touch. He needs to form relationships.

He has no idea how. But he has to.

The world depends on him. ]

Thank you.

[ ....incidentally, anyone walking by Ainea's temple might notice a kid sitting outside of it, absently yet intently people-watching. ]

Comments

Text;

[justcawse]

You really do have a way with words, don't you?

[He has no input on the matter. He's also new here and not interested. It's something he'll have to deal with to get by here himself, but the only thing he has to offer right now is sarcasm.

Sorry Ken.]

[ourtomorrow]

Was it a bad message?

[ Had he been too informal? He'd been too informal with strangers, hadn't he, especially strangers he's asking for information. But since he hadn't wanted to impose an undue burden on those who weren't interested in helping, he'd decided to keep it short and respect everyone's time....

Maybe this was the wrong way to start looking, after all. ]

[justcawse]

I wouldn't say it was bad.

[There were a lot of ways he could go with this. This kid seemed naive enough, but he'll refrain a little. To Ken's credit, Akechi isn't exactly the helping type. Self-serving? Absolutely.]

text

[breathoflove]

[Mitsuri is no good at texting to begin with and she's excited, so this will be fun.]

oh oh!!!! i hv lots of room in my place if youstill need somewhere!!!
i dont know about a job though,... sorryy

[It could have been worse.]

[ourtomorrow]

[ ... ]

I'm sorry. I don't understand.

[ourtomorrow]

[ It's all good. Compared to the messages Ken gets from his best friend back home, this is easy to decode. ]

I do need housing. Please don't worry about the job.

You really wouldn't mind?

[breathoflove]

i wouldnt mind at all!
im pretty lonely here righy now anyway
so youd be doign me a favor too!

[ourtomorrow]

I see.

[ This was...easy? Was it supposed to be easy? Is it really right to automatically accept?

Especially since - yes, they should address this. He shouldn't lead her to have expectations that he can't fulfill. ]

It might be a while before I could pay a deposit.

[ ken do you want a room or not ]

[breathoflove]

oh nooo!
you dont need to pay
this place is free i haven gotten one fo those fancy places
just company is all id want!!!!

[There's a looooong pause before Mitsuri sends one more message:]

♡＾▽＾♡

[She has recently discovered she can make smiley faces, but it takes her a while to get them perfect.]

[justcawse]

[Oh boy.]

You've got your priorities straight, at least.

[He thought about saying how more information might be helpful to Ken, but honestly... Who is Akechi to judge anyone? Well, actually... Scratch that. The point was that if it worked for him, than that's what mattered.]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken hesitates. (Then he gets the emoji and he hesitates longer, because he has absolutely no idea what to do with that.)

Shinji-san had been right. This is a place where people will welcome anyone. They don't have to "deserve" it, or be chosen. Simply because they're in need, they're worth helping.

And instead of that feeling lonely, it's encouraging. ]

Then, if you're okay with me

...

I'm in your care.

[ourtomorrow]

I see. Thank you.

[ Should he ask? This person doesn't appear to have reached out to assist. Ken has a lead on a place to stay, but....

If he doesn't ask, and it takes him longer to establish himself as a result, it'll be his fault. Here goes. ]

Do you know of jobs that accept children?

[breathoflove]

[ohmigosh!! She's so excited that she just flips on the video because she's pretty sure she can't type right now.

So here you go, Ken. Have Mitsuri beaming at the camera.]

Hello! It's nice to meet you! My name is Mitsuri~ And I'm looking forward to getting to live with you~~

[Just because she loves making new friends, so she knows she'll enjoy it.]

[justcawse]

Jobs that accept children... Hmm...

In a normal workspace, it's not common to have children working under a certain age. There are small things like newspaper deliveries or pet/baby sitting, but those are all cliches.

I'd say go with what you're good at. What are some things you like to do?

[He's being oddly helpful suddenly. Maybe he just got bored and decided to actually say something helpful?]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ah - video? It's a girl, older than he is -

Ken switches his camera on too. Mitsuri, you have just adopted a Literal Child.

Who is now standing at attention, feeling inspected, hoping he makes a good impression. Will she be disappointed now that she sees him...? ]

Same to you, Mitsuri-san.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken finds this curious as well, but that's probably his imagination, right? So he'll earnestly consider the question.

And then get discouraged. Things he "likes" to do aren't something he's listed so much as things he "must" or "can" do.

But if he tries, if he thinks of things he thinks of things he "likes" to do -

Jogging. Soccer.

The reply takes forever, but it comes. ]

Moving my body...perhaps?

[justcawse]

[Wow. And he's the unhelpful one?]

Okay... How about some of your skills? What do you do really well at?

[Why is he trying?]

[ourtomorrow]

If my skills aren't outdated, I've done computer programming.

[ He's not really sure whether anything else he does is a marketable skill. There isn't a market for origami, of that he's fairly certain....

....And his usual tasks aren't possible without his partner here. ]

[justcawse]

There's plenty of things you could do with computer programming. I don't know if they translate well here or not just yet, but I would assume there would be some use for it here.

You could just find a generic job to get by or you could freelance and do what you're good at.

Back home I'm a detective, for example. I'm in high school, but I was able to work with the police on a major case that was going on. Maybe you just need to find your niche and sell it?

laughs in future career paths

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ken thinks about all of this, but one piece in particular catches his attention. ]

You're a detective?

[ Somehow, that seems like a really compelling job. ]

[5thchild]

Why do you need a roomate?

[breathoflove]

[OH NO IT'S A LITTLE BOY

MITSURI LOOKS EVEN HAPPIER - if that's possible.]

Ahaha! Ken-kun! Would you like me to meet you somewhere so I can show you to the housing??

[She's bouncing on the balls of her feet. Which is making her just a little blurry. SHE'S EXCITED. A young boy, like her kouhai. Just what she needs!]

[ourtomorrow]

[ The full answer to this is too long, isn't it? That he needs housing, and it makes more sense to get to know people through the pursuit thereof, if his purpose for being here is really to save the world by finding people he's comfortable giving affection. That's too long. He shouldn't take up too much of this person's time.

How can he condense that? ]

I'm new.

[ ken ]

[ourtomorrow]

[ She's - excited? To meet him? So that strange face in her text hadn't been a coincidence. Mitsuri-san seems like an....enthusiastic person. ]

Yes!

[ Except. Hm. ]

I don't know many places, though.

[justcawse]

That is correct. It's something that I'm good at, so I did what suited me best. That said, I plan on doing quite a bit of investigating while I'm here.

[Nevermind the fact that there's more to his profession that meets the eye. Those were minor details.]