Sticky Fingers [Spirit Hunt/Hakainushi Recruitment/Mature]

A loud slurp resonated from the bottom of his foam cup as the last portion of whatever liquid substance that formerly occupied its bottom was pulled through a bright red straw, only to be swallowed and forgotten just as quickly. What followed was a quiet yet disgusted scoff as he studied the now-empty cup, wondering precisely what came over him the moment he ordered the beverage. They had the nerve to call this swill "fruit punch"? You would think that after being stranded in a foreign world for three days that you'd be able to find some decent food and drink afterward. But as of current, this wasn't the case; hell, the gelatin they served to the inpatients back at work had more flavor than this cheap shit.

This was but another lesson about life to be learned for Yuji Shimada, but the conclusions he reached were all the same. Living in the world just plain sucked. Everything was so colorless and vapid! People were just as insipid as they always are, and it nearly makes him sick to his stomach every time he's reminded of this truth, this reality he believes lies unquestioned due to its obviousness. He desired excitement in his life, and no matter where he went or how long it lasted, it simply was never enough to him. It becomes an addiction after a while, you know: the lust for thrills becomes a sensation that drives you into throes of pleasure, sating your appetites just enough before the urge returns, more powerful than ever. Thus, it becomes a vicious cycle of supply and demand on a psychological level—the addiction demands energy, and the addicted individual supplies the energy to fuel said addiction.

And right now, one of those urges were square in the middle of formulating itself within Yuji's slanted and calculating mind. His eyes and his ears guided his thoughts as they soaked in what he saw and heard; his nose absorbed and organized the various aromas that drifted through the salty ocean breeze—hot dogs from a nearby cart and stir fry several feet away from his location being cooked on the grill. Chinese food sounded wonderful, now that he thought about it; even better, he was sitting at one of their tables, as he had paused to take a break from his informative stroll around Whitewater City. Of course, silly him, he didn't have any money. His wallet was already lost by the time he woke up in this foreign realm, this Digital World as these walking, talking animal and plant monsters, or "Digimon", called it. Instead, he found that weird, purple gadget thing in its place. So, since he didn't have any money on his person, the next best thing to do was rather quite simple, and it happened to be a personal favorite pastime of his: dining and ditching.

"Oh, waiter!" Yuji called out with a slightly raised hand, putting emphasis on sounding as though he were inquisitive in order to grab the creature's attention. Several tables away, a rather large-looking spiky crab Digimon with green eyes, naturally called Crabmon, scuttled over to the green-haired man and clicked his massive pincers enthusiastically. "Yessuh, what kin 'ah gitcha today?" he spoke up with a rather thick Jamaican brogue. Yuji swiftly leaned in, elbows resting against his knees and a hand upturned, and grinned right back at him with that fox-like smirk of his. "I'd like the Imperial Special with extra pork and water chestnuts, four beef egg rolls, and two bowls of egg drop soup," he listed off with utmost effervescence in his voice, pausing for a split second, then lifting a finger to continue, "Oh, and could you bring two fortune cookies instead of one? Thanks!" With a rhythmic clack of his pincers in confirmation of his order, the Crabmon scuttled away to get it whipped up and served to him.

Yuji chuckled beneath his breath, tilting his head a little lower. That idiot had no clue that he was walking right into a scam. Just the thought of him realizing that he was being duped made the entire plan worth following through, so it gave Yuji incentive to keep mum on the whole thing. As they say: a master magician never reveals his secrets to the audience. And besides, it's not like he was going to be doing this alone. He was expecting someone tonight. Three days ago upon his waking up, he found a sealed envelope tucked beneath the gizmo that now rests in his pocket, marked with a hieroglyphic blue eye. Reading the contents of the letter enclosed within it revealed to Yuji that his presence was traced by an organization known as the "Hakainushi"—apparently, they were pro-anarchy terrorists or something, judging by their rather uninspired name of "terror lovers"—and that a representative of the organization would be sent to meet him in Whitewater City at a destination of the reader's choosing. Well, here's hoping that this person likes Chinese food, not that he gave a shit about them or anything.