Mo Chi Hihn's

A small vietnamese restaurant located close to Darklite. Its a small dinky shop that keeps busy enough and with the few apartments that are above the shop. The apartments are cozy and the only bad part is three large neon signs right outside the windows that blare through all hours of the day.

Jonas opened the door to his apartment going out into the hallway. His jacket's hood rested quietly on his head as a pair of old goggles covered his eyes. He popped a cigarette into his mouth and adjusted his backpack as he turned around to look at his messy apartment. He shrugged as a small grin pursed his lips. He turned around lighting the cigarette with a match struck along his thumb as he locked the door behind him. He galloped quickly down the stairs ringing a little bell with vietnamese writing hanging loosely from the wall. The restaurant rang through with a loud vietnamese saying that nobody knew what it meant. He skipped out into the road looking up to the sky seeing the sun shine through a few dark clouds. Jonas held his hand out to feel for something. "Its going to rain." He said to himself roughly. He shrugged as his backpack adjusted itself. He walked quietly down the street looking for work.

Ophelia stared through her dark aviators and the ad in the paper describing a "quaint little apartment with good sewage and...excellent lighting." She nodded as she brought her Marlboro to her lips to inhale. Her floppy gray coat hung loosely from her shoulders and she looked at the different buildings, scoping them out for the little apartment. She folded the ad up and slipped it into her well-like pocket and flicked the remainder of her cigarette to the side. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked to the sky seeing storm heads in the distance. "Great," she muttered, "its gonna rain."

She finally found the little shop that had sent out the ad. Ophelia started at the neon lights that would most likely be blinding her more at night. She scoffed and said, "I know I'm gonna regret this but...I really need a new place." She then walked into the shop. The place was bustling and it smelled a pork and various sauces. It was a bit smokey but not unbearably so. She made her way to the counter and pulled her sunglasses down her nose. "Excuse me, but are you still looking for a renter?" The woman looked confused for a moment then a smile of recognition spread across her lips, "Ah yes! You want room?" Ophelia nodded. he woman handed her the key hurriedly and said, "Up stairs, last one down the hall." She then scampered off yelling something Ophelia could not understand. Looked around the corner and saw the stairs the woman had mentioned.

After inspecting her room, she dropped her duffel bag on the bed and went back down stairs to leave the restaurant and go walk around before work.

Ophelia had made her way back to her little apartment, where the neon hummed and flickered above her. She stood under the awning and lit up a cigarette. She took a puff and blew the smoke into the rain drops falling from the sky. She pulled her sunglasses from her face and slipped them into one of her over sized jacket pockets. Her tousled, wet hair was pulled to one side as she zoned out looking at the adjacent building.

Jonas walked leisurely down the street enjoying the rain as he lifted his head towards the sky. Droplets danced along his face and sizzled on the huge neon signs. His fingertips crackled in the rain and a spark appeared in his eyes. Jonas sighed as he played with his fingers in the air. A scruffy looking man in shabby clothing walked a few feet behind him as he made his way to the door of the restaurant. Jonas held the door open for him and headed upstairs. The man walked in and headed towards the counter. Just before he made it to the counter, Jonas was behind him holding the man's gun that was in his pocket in his hand and talked with little emotion. "I wouldnt do that if I were you." The man, so frightened, ran outside quickly and took off dissappearing in the rain. The rain began to pick up a little in front of the shop as he lingered upstairs. He unlocked his door and made his way through the messy apartment. He threw his bag on the table and took his jacket off revealing a tight black undershirt. Walking out to his balcony he sniffed the air. He light a cigarette and took a drag. "Nice to see you again. You must be my neighbor now too." He said talking to the same girl from earlier on the balcony next to his.

She looked over and saw the man from earlier. Ophelia chuckled, "Wow, what a weird day. I've been caught spying, ran into you and now I live next to you. Small world?" She took another hit of the cigarette and looked back towards the adjacent building. Brushing a few strands of wet black hair from her face she asked, "What's your name anyway?"

Jonas grew a smirk as he looked down to the street seeing a few people walking by in the rain. "Jonas. You?" He inhaled the cigarette and looked over at her smiling after exhaling. The smoke danced in the rain as if it had its own story to tell. He leaned over the balcony and stared down at the street watching the rain run across the ground as happily as ever. "So whatcha doing on this side of town?" he said not really aimed at her.

She leaned against the wall and flicked her cigarette to the street below, "Ophelia, and I need a new place to live. Kinda got kicked outta my old place..." She pulled her flask out of her pocket taking a swig of the sweet yet strong mixed drink. She wiped her lips with her gloved hand and closed the flask up. She stuck her hand out from underneath the awning feeling the cold water hit her hand and roll off the sides. Her fingers twitched slightly and she felt her bones ache. She pulled her hand back and rubbed the water from her skin, "How long you been here?"

Jonas exhaled some more smoke watching it dance in the rain and the wind.
"Too long it seems. I really dont know, I guess I never kept track." He took the last drag on his cigarette flicking it into the street. "So why'd you get kicked out of the other place?" He asked as he ran his hand through his hair. He turned around leaning his back on the balcony looking at the mess in his apartment. "What do you do for fun anyway?"

Ophelia smiled at the memory of her walking down the hall of her old
complex, down to a room where a man sat on a couch, drinking a beer and
watching some random television show. She opened the door and stared
the man down. He sneered back at her scratching his large stomach. The
door then closed and she cam back to her present mind, " Eh, I was just
late on rent too many times." She continued to massage her right hand almost nervously " As for fun...I dunno. Drink, smoke, read, bar hop. Not much really. A bit of a loner"

"You moved to the right place then. Nobody really bothers you here. But that rent thing might get in the way. Mr. and Mrs. Hihn downstairs hate it when people are late on the rent." The roof in his apartment began to leak a little bit as he grabbed a bucket next to his feet and slid it under the leak. He walked back out to the balcony finding his companion still staring at the rain and rubbing her hand. "Something wrong with your hand?" He said mildy concerned. He kept eyeballing the mess of an apartment he had wondering when he would actually get to cleaning it.

She looked over to him pulled from her own thoughts, "Huh? Oh no, well, its just sore." After she said that she release her hand. Her bones popped and cracked, more so than a normal person's hand would. She clenched her fists a few times, release some more painful sounding pops. She looked back to Jonas and said, "Yeah, its just the cold weather, messes with my joints a bit." She adjusted her gloves and slid down the wall into a sitting position. "Whatcha keep lookin at in there?"

Jonas smirked as he listened to all the bones pop sounding like a few extra were in there. "Something I probably should be doing." He chuckled a bit. His hair fell down over his face as he stretched his arms towards the sky. He brought them down and swung his fists quickly at the air. "So any late night boyfriends I have to worry about?" He said chuckling again hoping she didnt hear him laugh.

Unfortunately for him she heard. Ophelia smirked, "Not that I can think of. Any late night girlfriends I should know about?" She pulled out her zippo and a cigarette, a sly smile still in her eyes. Her coat fell off one shoulder, revealing ivory skin that looked as sweet as buttermilk. She let the smoke slip between her pouted lips staring at the water dripping from the roof.

"Not unless you plan on it." He said with a devilish grin. He turned back around to watch the rain as it began to lighten up. He noticed a few kids running down the street dressed in party gear and lights everywhere.

"Aww shit guys were gonna be late." the oldest guy said
"Im running as fast as I can." The girl said trying to hold her bright green short skirt up from getting in the way. Her friend started to laugh.
"Its not exactly like were gonna miss it." She said through a glowing green gas mask. "These things go all night."
"I still dont wanna miss any of it." Said the guy.

They disappeared into the distance as Jonas sighed. "Probably heading to Raev Cyti. Good place to go if you like parties." He leaned on his balcony resting his chin in his palm.

Ophelia laughed to herself as she watched the two run up the street, "I'm too old for that shit. And even when I was young I never went to anything like that." She took a big hit of her cigarette before throwing it to its watery grave below. She ran her hand through her hair pulling away from her face allowing her narrow bone structure to be more visible. Her hair was the color of polished obsidian and it looked just as smooth. "Are you a party goer?" Her eyes seeming to implore much more than spoken.

Jonas started thinking back to his younger days. All the training he did with both his father and uncle and how envious he was of everyone else who got to live a normal life. He shrugged his shoulders and then answered. "If the mood strikes me. I tend to go with whatever sounds good at the time." He bent over and touched his toes stretching out his back and then stood up straight. "Ive mostly just been focused on getting work. Its hard to find any good odd jobs these days. Its getting harder to even get by. I should look into some new work." He sighed and looked back into his apartment. "You sound like you lack excitement." He said as laughter escaped his lips. "Well Im gonna clean my apartment because frankly it really needs it. My door's always open if you ever want someone to talk to. Just let yourself in." With that he walked into the apartment and began to lazily clean up. He would take clothes and haphazardly through them near the hamper. Garbage he picked up would make its way to an already overflowing garbage can. He managed to tidy the house to his liking as he sat down on the bed and began to play some music to pass the time.

Jonas sat basking in the music for a little while tapping his foot along and jamming his head along to the music. He smiled and started to sing along. He chuckled a little bit before turning off the music and pulling his guitar out. He pulled a pair of headphones out and plugged them in. Sitting on the bed he began to tune it getting it to his liking. Strumming the strings, he began to play his notes flawlessly. Getting faster and stronger, the song bled so much emotion as he began to sing. "Here I am singing about my woes. Finding it hard to make ends meet. Just when I thought it could only get worse. I find it all laying at my feet." He hummed a little as he practiced, seemingly oblivious to anything around him.

After a one or two hours worth of searching, someone finally recognized the picture in the phone. He did follow a false lead at one point, turned out to be some random raver chick. Hopefully this one is the real deal. Ichijin sighed as he made his way to some restaurant. He knew he couldn't ask around here if the girl was here, he didn't want to give himself away. So he sat down and waited till a waitress came by.

He's been to some really high classed foreign restaurants in the past and he instantly realized this place was a Vietnamese restaurant after looking at the menu. A young lady walked up to him and said, "Chào mừng bạn! Are you ready to order?" After the waitress gave him a warm greeting while asking him what he wants, he answers, "Chào buổi tối. I would like a batch of bánh bao and cơm gà rau thơm, please go easy on the mint." His eyes showing friendliness as he made eye contact with the waitress. On her part, she was really surprised by the way he said all the names right and the small greeting he returned. He handed the menu back and she took it as she bowed. She returned to the back and started to speak her native tongue to the chefs in the back.

He waited patiently for his food as he analyzed his surroundings. He noticed that this place has housing above, then he noticed the add that they're renting out apartments. The thought of her possibly living here made him feel at ease. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought, that's if she's here.. The food was brought back to him after a while and he sighed a sigh of relief as he took in the scent his food was giving off. "Cám õn rất nhiều!" The waitress smiled as she left the moment he started to dig into his food.

It honestly wasn't all that great but it was very filling. The only real difference he could make out was the ingredients were not as good as the other place his family goes to. He took his time to finish his food though to saver the taste and glance around for his target.

Jonas sighed as he put his guitar away. He stood up and stretched his back out. "Gotta make that money back somehow." He quickly packed up his guitar and slung the case strap over his shoulder. Looking around the room one last time, he let a smile lift at the corner of his mouth at how 'clean' it seemed to be. He made his way out of the room and locked the door behind him. Heading down the stairs, he stopped as he remembered something. Heading back upstairs, he knocked on his neighbor's door. "Im gonna go hang out in the richer club district. Sometimes they hire live music. You're welcome to come down and see me." He sighed figuring some human contact was better than nothing. He quickly made his way downstairs and eyeballed a rollerblader in richer clothes sitting at the table enjoying his food. He gently grabbed the waitress, also the owner's daughter, and walked her with him. "Who is he?" He said in her native tongue.

"He's just a new guy. Really friendly and smart too. Knew exactly what he was ordering and everything." She said as shesmiled having a small crush on Jonas. "Thanks." He said changing it to english. Jonas looked at the street and shook his head as he jogged down the street heading to the closest tram station.
[i]You're just being suspicious, Eli. Besides you locked your door[i] He thought to himself as he chuckled. The tram arrived after Jonas waited for a few minutes and he was off heading to Poseidon.

Ophelia looked to her door as he knocked. She smiled at his kindness and thought Maybe I should go and see him. Its always nice to have SOMEONE to talk to. She took the final swig of her Jack and turned back into her apartment. She looked around at how empty it seemed to be and sighed, "Even this place is depressing and I haven't even been here one day." Ophelia grabbed her satchel and her jacket and left the apartment. She slipped her coat on and headed down the stairs. She popped the joints in her hands, feeling them ache to move and realign. She rubbed her joints sympathetically, "Easy, easy, easy. Just wait a bit longer." As she reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a sudden feeling of suspicion and uneasiness that swept across her body. Something here was not right.

She stepped into the restaurant, scoping the tables. She shook her head realizing she had not lived here long enough to recognize the regulars. She thought that moving to quickly or pulling her coat close might too suspicious, but God how much safer she'd feel. She decided to walk out, casually, cool, collected. Ophelia held her head up and walked at her usual pace, but keeping her eyes fixed on the door. She knew she'd feel much better outside...or...she hoped so.

Ichijin finally finished his food when he saw some random guy come from up stairs. He spoke with a pretty fluent tongue to the waitress which was interesting because he didn't look the type. The guy gave him a look that told Ichijin 'you don't look like you belong here'. Ichijin brushed it off though as the guy didn't seem hostile or anything like that. He took his last bite but felt like he could eat a little more without over indulging himself in unhealthy food. He politely called over the young waitress and asked for another batch of bánh bao. He pulled out his wallet first and paid for his past meal and now future meal. She happily obliged as she bowed a little before going back to tell the chefs the next order.

When the new batch came in, he almost smiled as he found the aroma of a fresh batch heart warming. He then noticed the rain stopped, he let out a sigh of relief in front of the waitress. The waitress the said with a knowing smile, "I don't like the rain either" Broken out of his 'heart warming' stupor, he blinks and then replies, "Huh?" The waitress just smiled with closed eyes, "The way you sighed, I figured you just didn't like the rain. I never liked the rain, but I like it better when the rain stops. I don't know how to explain it but I just do." As she walked away, Ichijin was taken aback from the random fact she told about herself. A part of him could relate though because he didn't like the rain either, he only liked it when it stopped. It just sounds weird hearing it from someone else because he's the only person he knew who felt that way. He quickly got back to eating as soon as he realized he was just staring at the empty chair across from him.

After he ate the last piece of his food, he gave up another sigh of relief from being near full. He didn't like being completely full, it feels weird and gross. As soon as he sighed though, a girl walked down the stairs. He looked at her and knew she was the one she needed to isolate. He kept his calm though, even though he was excited on the inside. He stood up with his empty plate and empty cup to the register where the waitress was. She smiled bigger as she thanked him and took the dishes to the back. He stood there till the girl came back. When she noticed, her expression showed confusion and curiosity. He then smile for the first time for months. His smile seemed very unique to other smiles, it was both sincere and nostalgic. Seeing it for the first time feels like you've seen it before. He then pulled out four times the money he paid for the food he ate and put it on the counter. "I agree about the rain, it's much better when it stops. Oh, is there any rooms available up stairs? I'm interested in buying a room, I can pay in cash right now. Oh and this is my tip, someone as pretty as you should be spoiled every now and then." His everlasting smile stood there, waiting for a reply.

Ichijin made his way into his new apartment with a small luggage in hand. After renting the apartment from the nice people down stairs, he went out to buy some clothes, essential hygiene products, and a TMP. Looking back on how he got the gun was not a memorable moment.

Flash Back Begin
Ichijin just got done buying everything but he found two guys deep in a ally way. He didn't make his pressence known to them just in case but he has an idea of what's going down. The more bulkier guy pulled out an AK 47 and passed it to the other man. He then paid in cash before he put the gun insides of an long suit case. When the guy who bought the gun left, Ichijin made his way to the top of the building and then dropped down in on top of the guy to surprise him while knocking him out in the process. Ichijin was pretty sure he broke some of the gun dealer's bones doing this as well but he just shrugged it off. He searched the guy for anything interesting till he found an TMP along with rather large amount of ammo. He smirked a little to himself as he gathered all the ammo he can into his suit case along with the TMP. He decided to take most of the money of the guy as well for some pocket change. He then made his way back to the Mo Chi Hihn's.
Flash Back End

Ichijin sighed as he laid in his new bed. It wasn't that bad, he'll probably have a little problem sleeping. After contemplating what to do about the girl, he felt it was a good idea to get close to her and find a way to isolate her. Out of nowhere, his phone rang. The phone Apex gave him. He quickly answered the phone before the first ring was done...

(Convo will happen at HERE)