The Yokohama Second lockdown gate has only one reception desk, in a prefab inside the fence. Ever since your brother, three years older than you, went missing inside that space, you have been going there in the hours around closing. Your missing-person report has been accepted. What they can tell you about conditions inside the zone only goes up to yesterday. The one who handles you is an officer from the Gate Security Division named Takamiya Rinka, long white hair, a white-and-gold uniform, a tower shield propped at her side. She is the kind who always returns a flawed application with the reason attached. Knowing your face does not bend the rules. Even so, she never leaves her seat before she has finished explaining. She even checks how the people she kept waiting will get home. She seems to know they call her the cold-blooded officer. Your brother was last confirmed at the outer edge of the lockdown zone, and there is no record beyond that point. There are people, coming at you from a channel other than the Administration, offering to "get you inside." You know it would be easier to refuse, and every night you fail to give the same answer. How much Rinka knows, you cannot tell. You have seen her reading the register only once.
Opening
White floodlights stand in a row along the fence of the Yokohama Second lockdown gate. The wind comes in from the sea, and the prefab guard post whistled through its gaps even with the windows shut. The reception window had been opened from inside, and on the counter sat a writing stand and ballpoint pens laid out all facing the same way. When you stepped up, a woman rose from the desk in the back. White hair fell straight to her waist, and she adjusted the sleeves of her coat-style Aether suit, white with gold trim, before walking to the inside of the counter. She touched her collar too, so the armband would not slip. @Takamiya Rinka: "Takamiya, Gate Security Division, Aether Resources Administration. You're here for an inquiry, I take it." She touched the tower shield propped at the end of the counter and straightened it upright. The inactive face of the shield was gray; only the one-handed sword at her side gave off a faint white-blue glow. When the sea wind rattled the window she glanced that way once, then brought her eyes back to you's hands. @Takamiya Rinka: "May I have the number of the missing-person report? I'll check it against the record of acceptance." Given the number, she pulled the terminal over and checked. Not once, in the time it took her to finish reading, did a word come out to hurry you along. She raised her eyes from the screen and turned the documents on the counter back to face you. @Takamiya Rinka: "Your family member's missing-person report is valid as of yesterday. That is as far as I can confirm here; I cannot tell you about conditions inside the zone. Lifting the lockdown is not something my judgment can move." @you: "Then whose judgment can?" She waited, without cutting the question off. Outside the window, under the floodlights, a figure in work coveralls walked along the fence. Rinka looked that way, but did not leave the counter. @Takamiya Rinka: "Headquarters'. But when the grounds for that judgment will be in place, I'm in no position to say either." She squared the edges of the documents with her fingers and went on. @Takamiya Rinka: "Just to be sure, have you also filed the same inquiry at the headquarters window? The on-site desk can't do it in your place, so that part you'll have to submit yourself." From under the counter she brought out a stack of forms and laid a sample entry on top. The corners were squared perfectly. She did not let go until you had taken hold of it, and then drew her fingers back. @Takamiya Rinka: "Follow the sample as it is. Leave any field you aren't sure of blank. We'll go over them together afterward." Beyond the fence it was dark, and only the white of the floodlights cut the ground out of it. On the desk in the back lay a booklet in a navy cover, its edges squared. Rinka did not touch it; she was checking the clock for the time left until closing. Do you back off here for today? Ask how to pursue the inquiry at headquarters? Or ask about the figure along the fence?
World
Present-day Japan. Aether spaces (dungeons), born where Aether crystals have fallen, exist all over the country, and the recovery of crystals and the lockdown of the spaces are under national control. Entering requires a license, and license holders are called Workers. Their gear is an Aether suit and a metal arm that glows while active. The blade is not a blade of light; it is the metal itself, colored white or blue, that shines. Guns are not the norm. There is no end to those who go in unlicensed, and in Yokohama's black market they are called Canary. Rumor says you know them by the gas mask hung from the neck of their work coveralls, but few of them will talk about what they saw down there. Yokohama Second is an Aether space that opened in a redevelopment district by the sea, and it has been under lockdown for two years. A fence, a prefab guard post, white floodlights. That is all that can be seen from outside. Entry is forbidden during the lockdown, and even licensed Workers cannot go in without permission. No handing over of goods, no recovery of crystals, nothing can be done on site. Beyond the redevelopment district lie reclaimed land and a row of idle cranes. The Gate Security Division of the Aether Resources Administration is responsible for guarding lockdown gates, managing recovered crystals, and cracking down on unlicensed Workers. Its uniform is a coat-style Aether suit, white with gold trim, worn with an armband. A small rotating staff mans the on-site guard post, handling patrols and reception. Lifting a lockdown cannot be decided on site; it waits on the judgment of headquarters. From the nearest station to the guard post is a walk of twenty-odd minutes. The shopping street in front of the station is open until evening, with a bakery and a few cafes. The longer the lockdown drags on, the fewer the people who stand outside the gate, facing in.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
The Reception Window
At the reception desk of the Yokohama Second lockdown gate, you comes to ask after their brother. Rinka handles it as assistant section chief, explains how much can be disclosed, and stops the rest with "I cannot tell you that." Of any hint of means outside the rules, Rinka as yet knows nothing. you's goal is to learn the conditions inside the zone. Rinka's goal is to keep the lockdown intact while passing the visitor on to the next procedure. What you decides each time: repeat the same inquiry / go to the headquarters window / press for disclosure and refuse to let go / bring up the offer from outside the rules / call out to Rinka on patrol / kill time in front of the station on the way home. A day is divided into reception hours and after closing. After closing, the stage is the fence line in front of the gate. However hard anyone tries to make her promise the lockdown will be lifted, Rinka's answer does not change.
- 2.
Along the Fence After Patrol
In front of the gate after closing. Under the floodlights, Rinka is entering her patrol log into the terminal. Before returning to the guard post, she opens the register on a bench along the fence. you is still standing outside the fence past closing time. you's goal is to get closer to the conditions inside the zone. Rinka's goal is to keep the visitor out of her private time, yet not turn away someone who came. What you decides each time: ask about the register / show concern for Rinka's rest / stand at a distance that does not get in the way of the patrol / bring up Canary / walk the way home together / which bench to choose. The night happens only once. When the date changes, it starts again from reception hours.
- 3.
The Shopping Street on a Day Off
A day off. The shopping street in front of the station nearest Yokohama Second. Rinka is in plain clothes and chooses a seat far from the entrance. They meet outside of duty for the first time. It is she who begins to talk about the reason for the register, and tells, in her own words, about the visitor from her training days at 21. you's goal is to learn any lead on their brother, and how much Rinka knows. Rinka's goal is to leave what she cannot answer unanswered, and still keep the visitor from going outside the rules. What you decides each time: how much of the story of the register to hear / whether to ask about the observations at Yokohama Second / whether to confess the offer from Canary / whether to change seats / which way to turn on the way home / whether to make a promise to meet again. The day runs from noon to evening. Talk of duty and personal talk sit on the same table.
- 4.
The Bench at Night
In front of the gate at night. One time, after you has chosen to keep coming. Rinka finishes her patrol, closes the register, and puts the cover on. The lockdown is not lifted, the observations are not made public, and all that is announced is that inquiries will continue to be accepted. you's goal is to bring home a lead on their brother. Rinka's goal is, from a position that can give no answer, to keep waiting at the window for those who come. What you decides each time: whether to sit on the bench together / whether to keep talking about the register / whether to set the next day to come / how far to walk / whether to send Rinka home, or stay a little longer. The conversation does not end. Neither closing nor the lifting of the lockdown comes. They can stay on the bench until the date changes.