Fluorescent blue light reflected off of her glasses. Her television, far too big for her apartment and crammed up onto the wall between a bookshelf and a wall, illuminated the whole room, so she kept the lights off. It was 2 in the morning anyways. She scratched her head, wiping the leave-in conditioner off on her pants before grabbing her controller again. She muttered curses under her breath, whispering to herself, "Cloud, please keep your team from dying, please..." She inhaled deeply to keep herself from yelling when the remainder of her team died. "No one can hear you, stupid." She turned off the game, deciding to call it a night. She got up and stretched, every facet joint in her spine seeming to snap, crackle and pop. "Jesus."
[[She goes to bed.]]She yawned ferociously, scratching her stomach as she turned her TV off. She slid her feet into her slippers, tying her wet, curly hair into a ponytail and stuffing it into a bonnet. She slides her bathroom door open, turning the light on and wincing at the brightness. Looking in the mirror she examined herself. She inspected her deep skin, trying to find a pimple to pop but coming up short. Her skin routine had become increasingly convoluted as the days have gone by and she received more of her items in the mail. 30 minutes later, she was done, and turned the light off as she left the room. Walking to the bed, she slid her slippers back off and collapsed into bed, wiggling under the sheets. Her eyes fluttered shut and she drifted off to sleep.
[[The next morning.]]***Knock knock knock***
A fist rhytmically tapped on the front door. That's how she woke up. Scratching her forehead, she checked her phone briefly checked her phone for messages, and saw one; from Dai.
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: open the door :)]*
"Of course." The time read 9:24. She got up and walked through the door to her room, walking down the short hallway past her small kitchenette and stepped down into the doorway, kicking her shoes to the side by the shoe closet gently. She opened the door just as another series of knocks began.
"Good morning sulky!" Dai chirped.
"I'm not sulky, Dai." She responded between yawns.
"I know you better than you know yourself, Kichi."
Kichi made a face at her, shuffling to the side. "Come on, I can feel the heat in my sinuses." Dai walked into the apartment. "You cleaned?"
[["Yeah, and what about it?"]]
[["No, I'm the only person here. I can deal."]]"I'm proud of you is what. You even got some proper cutlery," She responded back smugly. "Yeah, now I gotta wash more dishes," Kichi said, locking the door before turning around and going with her to her room, Dai sitting at her dining table.
"Would you like something to drink? I'm gonna make some green tea."
"I'll just have some water, thanks." Dai smiled at her before looking down at her phone.
Kichi went back through the open door to the kitchenette, setting a kettle full of water on her electric cooktop. Reaching into the cupboard, she brought out a glass cup and her porcelain mug. After setting a teabag into her mug, she poured some cold water out of a pitcher into the glass and walked back into the room. Setting it down on the table, she asked, "Did something happen to bring you here?"
[["Can I not come to be with my friend?"]]"What about me? I live here part time." Dai said, picking some clothes off the floor and putting them in hamper. Kichi leaned against the doorframe to watch her as she cleared the small dining table and sat down."Do you want something to drink? I'm gonna put some tea on."
"I'll take water."
Kichi goes to the kitchenette and sets a kettle of water on the electric cooktop, pouring Dai a cool glass of water. "Where's my mug..." Kichi muttered, poking her head into the room and scoping it. Nope. She then checked the bathroom and she couldn't find it there. "Dai, have you seen my mug?" She shouted. "I just got here!" She replied. "So? You're good at finding stuff." Kichi heard a sigh and a shuffle, and Dai was shortly at the room door. Kichi walked past her to the door way, and looked at the shoe closet. She opened it and pulled the mug out. "Here it is. You always put it here, Kichi."
"Oh, oops." Kichi took the mug and washed it, setting it on the counter and dropping a tea bag in it.
When she was done, Dai was sitting once more, and she sat across from her.
"Why are you here again?"
[["Can I not come to be with my friend?"]]
"I mean..." Kichi started, by Dai hushed her, then sipped her water. "It's crazy how little you think of me, after all these years." Kichi rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, what happened?"
"So, basically-"
"So there IS something!" Kichi exclaimed knowingly.
"Of course there is." Dai smiled. "So, like I was saying, there's this trip I'm going on and I want to take you with m-"
"No." Kichi said sternly.
"You don't know what it is." Dai said, frowning. "And you never leave the house anymore."
"There's nothing wrong with-"
"-staying inside," Dai said mockingly, "yeah, yeah. I don't care what you have to say, you're coming with me."
[[Kichi kisses her teeth sharply.]]"Where are we going?"
"Well..." Dai pulled out a map and laid it on the table. A large red circle outlining...
"The forest? I'm not going to nobody's forest Dai, you know me better than-"
Dai made a face. "Yeah, yeah, I know. There's a cabin there with wifi, you'll be okay. Just buy some bugspray."
Kichi sighed and held her head in her hands. "You're giving me a headache."
"No I'm not you're just dramatic. It'll be fun, you'll see."
"It'll be fun, you'll see..." Kichi said in a mocking tone, going to take the whistling pot off the kettle.
[["So much for a cool summer indoors..." Kichi muttered to herself.]]Kichi poured the piping hot water into her mug, the tea becoming more fragrant by the second. She took a deep breath, comtemplating her options. She could still decline the trip, otherwise it would just be kidnapping. Besides, Dai was stubborn, but not that stubborn. Or, she could just accept the trip and make the best of the situation. Accepting would also be less stressful as Dai wouln't be bothering her for the next few days about whether she's sure or not.
[[Kichi decides to go on the trip.(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)]]
[[Kichi decides to decline the trip. Who needs the outdoors anyways?]]Kichi took a deep breath. 'Okay, here we go. She won't mind." Kichi muttered, hyping herself up under her breath. She stepped into the room, looking at Dai. She took a deep breath, catching Dai's attention. "Hey, you."
"Hey, me." She said, cocking her head to the side. "You still don't wanna go?"
"Don't steal my thunder! I don't wanna go into the forest, I have enough bugs in my life with you around." Kichi added that last part in offhandidly as she sat in the chair at the table. She took a sip of her tea and set it down, the porcelain clanking softly against the solid pinewood table.
"Wow, Kichi, thats low." Dai said, flicking Kichi on the arm. "Fine, if that's what you want. I'm leaving in two weeks; so you have a while to make your decision. I have to go to work, love you!" She said, gulping down the rest of her water and standing. She kissed kichi on the cheek, smiling widely and walking out of the room, a bounce in her step.
Kichi followed her to the door, holding it open as Dai slipped her shoes back on. Dai stepped out the door and turned back, waving, then turning back around to get her bike's U-lock off. Snapping the helmet on and chucking the lock into the basket, she got on, waving again before peddling off.
'Why is she like this?' Kichi thought to herself, closing the door. She scratched her head through the fabric of her bonnet and went to finish her morning tea.
[['Damn. I should work today too.']]
Kichi sat down at her desk, turning her beast of a computer on. She sipped her lukewarm tea. She typed in her 25 character password, her fingers drumming on the keyboard with a practiced cadence. 'I have to change it soon...' She noted. She opened up her email, reading the one from her contractor. Cracking open her notebook, she notes the details of the job.
'So, they have multiple firewalls and an IDS system... blah blah blah....'
She turned on an instrumental music mix she had made and got it cracking.
First and formost; reconnaissance. This usually took her a workday; because she was extremely throrough.
First, she simply loaded up their website. *(font: "courier new") ["Kadenokoji. One of Nippon's largest family-owned businesses..."]*
The website read. She poured over the familial hierachy in the company. Details about their lives. She used it, in combination with Maltego to find their DNS records and IP addresses. She also retrieved a full list of staff names and email addresses.
[[Kichi used an application she developed to run through each email address with passwords generated from a set of given information.]]It didn't trip any detection systems; and was extremely efficient. She pulled in a good earning by selling the application to other people who do what she does.
She sipped on a cup of water.
"Ew, its stale." She got up and stretched, picking the cup up and checking the time. It was 11:01. She walked over to her kitchenette, pouring the water out and washing the cup. Filling the cup back up, she took a sip, hearing two dings coming from the other room. She walked back into the room, flipping on the fan as she sat back at the desk.
She grabbed up her phone.
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: Wyd? Did u eat?]*
*(font: "courier new") [Kichi: not yet; not hungry. i'm working 。゚(゚´Д`゚)゚。]*
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: Ur not hungry at this time of day? wwwwwwww]*
*(font: "courier new")[Kichi: let me work, i'll be done befor e you ᕦ༼ ˵ ◯ ਊ ◯ ˵ ༽ᕤ]*
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: WWWW Okay]*
Kichi let out a small laugh before fixing her eyes onto the computer. The other ding came from here.
[[The application was done and she got some hits.]]The CFO's password was something to the effect of 'Shirakawa forever,' that's where the family is from. "Well, that's not very secure... no wonder there have been security issues. The CFO, Haru Kadenokoji was a 31-year old man, he graduated from Keio University with honors; he was the top of his class. Or somewhere near it, it's rumored that he paid for a small boost. Pretty smart guy regardless.
That's what makes this password thing ridiculous.
She made a note. Getting into the site, she got access to confidential emails, finacial reports, and a full list of employees names, addresses and other personal information.
[["This is a mess."]]It took her way less time than usual to complete her reconnaissance, now she didn't know what to do. So she did what she did best.
She got up and slinked over to the couch, sliding onto it with a small smile. She fished the remote out from between the cusions.
***Click. Click.... Click. ClickClickClick.***
"Ah, yes." She said, finally making her decision.
She turned on Ponyo, a childhood favorite.
She felt comfort in its familiar opening. 'Miyasaki remains a mastermind.' She let her conscious mind melt away as she immersed herself in the movie.
Later(click: "Later")[, after the movie, she would start tommorow's work; scanning for vulnerable ports using a couple of scanners. Then she would play a bit of Super Mario Bros to wind down before doing her nighttime routine; going to sleep at 24:00.]
[[A couple days later.]]
It was 16:00 on a Wednesday. Kichi checked her phone; one missed call and 4 missed messages. One from Dai, and three from her mom.
She opened her mom's first.
*(font: "courier new") [お母さん: (click: "お母さん")[(Okāsan: Mom/Mother)] Hello?]*
*(font: "courier new") [お母さん: Call me please.]*
*(font: "courier new") [お母さん: Kichi please call me.]*
"Okay. Damn." Kichi hit the call button.
***Riiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiin-***
"Hello?" A high picthed voice asked on the other side of the phone.
"Hey, mom." Kichi replied.
"Hello."...
...
"Well, what happened?" Kichi asked after the pause.
"Why can't I want to speak to my child? Just because YOU treat me and your father like chopped liver doesn't mean we do the same to your stink butt."
"Mom, what prompted you to want me to call?"
"Well, I heard you were going on a trip and I thought it was funny how you didn't tell me."
"That's because I'm not going." Kichi said, holding in a sigh.
"Why not? You need to get out more, you always look like you've never seen the sun."
"Why do that when I can just wear bronzer?"
"Stop talking bare foolishness in my ears. Go outside or I'll drag you out. Anyways, come by sometime and pick up some food."
"Okay mom. I love you but I gotta go."
"Always gotta go. You'd think there wasn't enough time in the day. Bye, Kichi." She said and hung up before kichi could respond.
[['Is she like this genetically?']]The other message was from Dai.
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: OMG]*
*(font: "courier new") [Kichi: what happened?]*
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: Nothing, I just wanted to get your attention :)]*
*(font: "courier new") [Kichi: PLEASE get off my phone dai]*
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy www]*
*(font: "courier new") [Kichi: you're irritating. & if ur gonna ask me if I changed my mind, no ヽ( ̄~ ̄ )ノ]*
*(font: "courier new") [Dai: 何でやねん (click: "何でやねん")[(nandeyanen; roughly "what are you talking about?")]
。・゚゚(>д<)・。]*
Kichi laughed to herself, sighing and fixing her eyes onto the screen before her but not quite focusing on what's on it.
Does she still feel the same?
[[Yes, trips to the forest are for suckers.(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)]]
[[Maybe not, she'll go, just to see what happens.(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.