Season's Greetings (Ren Tanaka)
| Season's Greetings (Ren Tanaka) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 29 December 2014 |
| Location: | Tomoeda(?), Asian Plains |
| Synopsis: | More scenes from the life of a traveller... |
| Cast of Characters: | 165 |
"So I had something rather interesting lined up for the days after christmas.
Not that the holiday itself is anything more than a day of the week to me, you understand, but I know that the season's a big thing for almost everyone else. Mostly I just like the fact that it's one or two days of the week where you can walk around and everything in the big cities are practically abandoned. But I digress.
I was on my way to this fashion show audition... fascinating thing really, this rather chatty fashionista by the name of Daidouji sent out an open offer. Show up, model for her, maybe keep the clothes she chose for you. I could hardly say no to a new set of clothes, could I? Not often you get that kind of offer.
Except when I'm on my way there, I see people throwing out their holiday junk. It's mostly stuff like, oh, you know, wrapping paper, hundreds of twisty ties, the instruction manual you really should keep, but some people are throwing out some toys who don't work. I go past this one apartment and I see someone with a bag of stuff and this spinning top at the top of the pile.
Except that's not a spinning top, that's a Zasseone.
I recognized it immediately- they're something I've come across before. Imagine a ... imagine the most stereotypical gemstone. Round cut, pointy bottom, you know what I mean. Then cross it with a flower, make it look like it's made of fine china... that's a Zasseone. Put a little twisty wire on the top and it looks like a spinning top.
The question that hits me immediately is, why did someone get a Zasseone as a christmas present?
As soon as the person's dumpstered it and walked away, I go up to them and ask them about it. They say the top broke off, it made quite an unpleasant noise... wouldn't stop making it for ten minutes, which was the weird part. Cracked the windows in their apartment. They're not too willing to deal with me because I'm some guy off the street, but that's what I've come to expect. I give them the number of a reasonable new double glazing salesman and a note that it's a favour from Agnew, they'll get an affordable replacement. I say, 'tis the season for generosity and goodwill, they take it at face value when I show them my Piffle corp namebadge.
So anyway, the Zasseone. Naturally it's floating away by now, and it twirls off and around a corner by the time I've finished talking.
Now, I could ignore it, I could go and get myself a new pair of pants, but that's when I see another of them lying in the trash a few yards down the road. I'd ran a few yards down the road after the first because as you can guess, by now I'd already started to make my decision. This chap stops me from touching it- it's pretty bashed in. He said he got it for a present, but it started making this unpleasant, loud noise and he bashed it to stop it working, and then it started leaking this funny silvery stuff. So I say, OK, and go on my way.
But as they say, to lose one alien might be regarded as misfortune, but to lose 2? That's carelessness. And if I have missed at least two Zasseone, making strange noises and peeing on peoples' carpets...
So I walk down the street, I find another person... they tossed one out, I ask them to describe the sound it made... another person, a different sound... another person, same sound, different color leaking... and before I know it I'm a mile away from the place I was supposed to be and there's got to be at least four Zasseone making a callout and hoping something answers... so somewhere in this town, there's going to be something that responds...
And I've got to find that family before it perks its head up...
Maybe next time, Daidouji.
