Return (Character Introduction)

Just a way for me to practice my writing and flesh out my character a little bit. Enjoy!
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Return
"It's just a flesh wound!"

Return

The constant sounds of aircraft landing and departing Torn City were just that: constant. If the chittering of birds were to be heard over the many jets and planes for just a moment, one might think the world was ending. Torn was rough and noisy by nature, a city that many people tried to give a wide berth.

Not Suki.

Nearly four years ago, Suki arrived in Torn with nothing but the clothes on his back and a dream. The city provided him with an escape from the monotony of his life back in Japan, something he desperately craved. He was never one for traditionalism. This attitude often put him at odds with his father, a man who was the definition of rigid. For awhile, Suki remained steps ahead of his father. Torn was perfect for him, a place where he could disappear and leave his past behind. It was just like the wild west in his eyes. And after a while, it even became home. It hurt when he was ripped from it and couldn’t come back. But now, it was time to return.

Suki arrived on one of the many planes that came and went from Torn, looking more haggard than the other passengers disembarking with him. He’d been through the ringer during his absence, but it wasn’t too much worse than what the city had put him through in the past. Torn often had its way with newcomers, and he was thankful he wasn’t counted among those who had been chewed up and spit out by it. He had a close circle of friends until he took that flight out to South Africa a year ago. He couldn’t help but wonder how they were doing, or if they were even still alive. He’d have time to track them down another day.

For the time being, Suki just wanted to head home. The flight from Tokyo was long, and he was eager to lay his head on a soft pillow. At least I still have my house, he thought to himself as he navigated out of the airport terminal. He flagged down a taxi and made haste for home. On the trip back home, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander.
Is my old job going to take me back?
Serenity… I wonder if she’s skipped town since I’ve been gone.
Oh no. Did I forget to turn the oven off before I left?
Suki had a lot to think about, but upon arriving at his destination, his train of thought completely derailed. He had a much bigger issue to worry about: his house, or rather, his lack of one.

“E-eh?! It’s garbage now?!” Suki’s jaw nearly dropped to the sidewalk as he gazed in horror at the mountain of trash that stood in place of his opulent mansion, tears welling up in his eyes. Between he and it, a tall chain link fence barred entrance. He dropped his suitcase to the ground after a moment and sighed in defeat as he looked up and down the sidewalk. For whatever reason, the city decided to raze his home and expand the garbage dump during his absence. Now he really was back at square one…

After a few long, quiet moments of consideration, Suki uttered a quiet “kuso” and bent down to retrieve his suitcase. After a moment, he was on his way with a new destination in mind. The casino was always a good way for him to forget his troubles, and now he had a heap of them weighing him down. He strolled toward the Red-Light District, quietly swearing under his breath.

Suki's back baby!

"It's just a flesh wound!"

Suki stepped through the automatic doors to Torn City’s casino with a look of reminiscence worn on his face. He’d made many memories here. All the times he’d gone broke, all his big wins, all the friends he’d made during long gambling sessions… he’d missed this place. Before the mansion, the casino was the closest thing he had to calling home in Torn.

With his game of choice already in mind, Suki made his way across the lobby and toward the game halls. He made a beeline toward the roulette tables, although they weren’t his end goal. What he wanted was the private hall just past the roulette tables, the more high-risk game: Foot Russian Roulette. He’d gotten plenty of flak from old roommates and spouses for coming home at the end of the night on a pair of crutches, but it was well worth it! The pots often more than made up for the trouble, leaving him a profit even after the hefty hospital bills.

Upon reaching the door to the Russian Roulette Hall, Suki stopped and examined the face of it. The casino had posted two signs: one read Restricted Access, the other sat below it and read Live Firearms in Use. This was usually enough to deter the curious and the ignorant, but he knew exactly what he was walking into. He used to own these tables. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the knob and let himself in.

Suki was immediately greeted by the sound of several handguns clicking coming from the rooms ahead of him. He stepped into a small sitting room, with a short hallway extending from it directly ahead. There were several doors in this hallway, and the sounds of revolvers dry firing emanated from those that were closed. At the end of the hallway sat two medics, a stretcher sat against the wall behind them. They paid Suki no mind, seemingly waiting for somebody to put a gaping hole in their foot. As for the waiting room itself, it was rather simple; it was dimly lit, with several comfortable looking armchairs lining the perimeter of the room. It could sometimes take a while to find around of roulette, so it made sense to make the wait as pleasurable as possible. On occasion, Suki would even find himself napping in these chairs after an intense all-nighter.

It wasn’t long before the medics had their time to shine. Suki had hardly chosen a chair to sit in before a single gunshot rang out from halfway down the hall, which was immediately followed by the sound of screaming. Somebody wasn’t having a very good night. Shortly after it began, a woman exited the room, a wad of cash in her hands. Counting her winnings bill by bill, she shot a quick glance at the medics before heading toward the sitting area. She giggled to herself as she yelled back to her unfortunate opponent, “it’s just a flesh wound! Get over it, big man!”

Even despite her yelling, it wasn’t likely the man heard her. From the way he was howling, it must have been quite the flesh wound. The medics both stood with a sigh and raised their hands before pumping them three times and throwing out their choice of rock, paper, or scissors. The loser quietly groaned and grabbed their first aid kid before heading into the room. “You know I hate giving the shots, come on…”
“You lost fair and square,” the winner replied with a chuckle as he grabbed the stretcher by the rails and guided it into the room.“Besides, you need practice! Always missing veins…”

The voices of the medics faded as they disappeared into the roulette room and began to work on the injured player. Suki normally would have tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, but he instead found himself with his eyes and ears on the winner of the game. As she rounded the corner and entered the sitting room, Suki looked at her and eyeballed the stack of bills in her hands. There had to have been $10,000 there, easily… he couldn’t let something like that walk away! Thankfully, the young woman was all too happy to put it on the line for a bigger win.

Suki perked up, ready to get the woman’s attention, but she beat him to it. Upon catching sight of him, the woman waved her stack of cash at Suki and grinned, her lips stretching into a devious smile. “You’re new meat, hello there… $15,000 on the table, I know you want it! Want to come to my room?”

“Bring it on,” Suki replied with a grin of his own. The woman turned on her heel and beckoned for Suki to follow as she headed backdown the hallway. Suki grabbed his jacket and stood before following her. He slowed down as he passed the room the medics entered, just long enough to snoop. The medics were just lifting the man up onto the stretcher, his bandaged foot already bleeding through and dripping onto the hardwood floor. Suki cringed slightly as he picked up the pace and entered the next room down the hall.

Suki’s opponent had already taken her seat when he entered. With a determined look in his eyes, Suki pulled the door closed behind him. He draped his jacket over the back of his chair before sitting down, already eyeballing the revolver on the table. There was a box of loose ammo sitting beside the unloaded gun, ready to be put to good use. Suki reached for the revolver; it was customary for challengers to take the first round, after all, and the woman seemed to have no complaints as she sat smugly and waited. Suki gave the revolver a quick once over before snatching a single round from the box of ammunition and loading it into its chamber. Suki closed the cylinder and looked away as he gave it a spin.

With a deep exhale, Suki looked down at his foot and pointed the revolver at it. After not playing for a year, this was tough… he used to be able to pull the trigger without a second thought, but now he was hesitating. That made the anxiety so much worse. A small bead of sweat rolled down Suki’s cheek as the slow seconds stretched into minutes in his mind. Before long, his opponent became impatient and began to prod him. “Come on! You were so happy to jump up and chase me in here, weren’t you? Don’t tell me that was all fake bravado?”

This garnered no response from Suki, who only bit his lip as he eyed his foot through the iron sights of the revolver in his hand. This just irritated the woman further. She waved her hand angrily at Suki and began to poke at him further. “Pull it! Pull it already, don’t be a pussy. Why are you even here?! Pull it already!”

Of course, Suki was thinking the exact same thing. He was psyching himself up in his mind, but it was tough to pull the trigger after so long. His lips pulled into a thin line as he gulped, his finger slowly tightening against the trigger… until he finally made up his mind, closing his eyes and giving it a hard pull.

As the medics wheeled an injured Russian Roulette player out, their replacements quickly filed in with an empty stretcher. These two, quite unfortunately, didn’t have the chance to sit down and take a break. Mere seconds after entering the waiting area, a gunshot rang out, followed by the sound of screaming and crying out in a foreign language. The two medics quietly groaned and made their way down the hall, squeezing by a woman with two fistfuls of money. She turned the corner into the waiting area and locked her eyes on an unsuspecting patron, a grin spreading across her lips.
“Hey, handsome… want to play a game?”

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