Satoshi hopped down the platform, leading Eru toward the meeting place. She wobbled slightly, used to flat light sandals as opposed to the heeled boots that the common women wear. Despite having more material and therefore being more expensive such shoes were necessary; the rundown poor part of the city wasn't required to be kept clean like the rich portion. And while the poor could do it, most didn't take the time because they were too exhausted from their work that day.
Satoshi helped Eru down a steeper bit then they walked on the mostly level ground from there. Once Eru caught her breath she glanced over at Satoshi and said: "I am curious, what do you do for a living? I thought all jobs paid the same here, but your clothes...not to be rude or anything...!" she waved her hand to dismiss any rudeness that might have existed.
Satoshi laughed with a grin. "I'm not offended. I run errands for your of your fellow rich families. You might know them...the Fuyumi family?"
"Ah! I know them. They have a daughter that is a year above me."
Satoshi nodded. "My job is a bit out-of-date, but to put it in simple terms, I'm an errand boy for them." Satoshi swung one of his many messenger bags around. "While most families these days simply send messages or packages through the system, they have me to do it." He held up a finger and smirked. "You may be wondering why the use such an old-fashioned method..." Eru nodded.
"Well!" he said extravagantly, "They only trust a person their family knows to send packages. You know what their business was, right"
"They ran branches of hospitals, correct?"
"Exactly. And they needed a trustworthy person to deliver top-secret instructions, medicines, and prescriptions so doing this has been in my family for years! Even in this modern age!" he concluded, dramatically spreading his arms wide.
"Oh! Is that true?" Eru asked, completely convinced.
Satoshi shook his head with a shrug. "Not really. The real story is that my dad used to be a close friend with the Fuyumi's oldest son. He saved his life once. But my dad died a little while ago. He was the one that worked in our family because I was still a little too young to. But when the son heard the news he asked if I wanted to have a job. And of course, I did."
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why did you want to work? Should you not have been in school?"
Satoshi rubbed his head in a confused manner. "You'd really have to ask Hotarou a question like that. But I wasn't in school at that point. We only attend school for about eight years, starting from the time that we can walk. Other than that, I don't know the details. I just know that the only goal you have when you get out is to work. And every kid works in what their family's been doing for generations."
"How does that work when families intermix then, do the children follow after the father's job or the mother's?"
"It depends on the job and the family. One family isn't the only family that does that one job."
Eru tilted her head, not quite understanding his meaning.
"There is more than one family per job. There are several families that farm; there are several families that are cobblers; there are several families that are tailors."
"Oh! I see."
He paused and looked around. Then turned right into a small alley. "Here we are! Akachouchin!"
They entered through the curtains and headed back to the normal spot. Hotarou was there first, as usual, reading a novel.
"Good evening," Eru addressed Hotarou. He nodded his greeting.
"Where's Ibara?"
"She called. She said she had to go shopping and for us not to wait for her."
"Speaking of which, Miss Chitanda, how's that skirt I made?"
Eru started. "It is...um...nice?"
Satoshi laughed. "You don't have to be so polite. I know you're not used to it. But what I really wonder is, where did Hotarou come up with that fabric?"
Hotarou turned away to read his book.
"I am curious as well. How did you come up it?"
He ignored them both.
"It's strange though, sometimes he comes up with something that's not usually very easy to get like magic. It's like he's some kind of wizard!"
Hotarou continued to ignore them.
"Would you like something to drink?" Satoshi asked, gesturing to Eru.
"Water's fine." He nodded and stood to go fetch the drinks.
The two sat quietly. Eru not daring to talk for fear of interrupting Hotarou and making him angry. Hotarou reading continued reading his book.
Satoshi returned and set the glasses down. "Sorry this water's not going to taste as good as your own. But there it is."
Eru smiled her thanks. Satoshi took a sip then remembered. "But as for why my clothing is like it is, I think it's more colorful that way..."
"More like he's a penny pincher."
Both turned to Hotarou. He looked over his shoulder at them.
"Oreki, that's not very nice." Eru noted. He shrugged.
"It's true. He won't go out and buy new clothing so he sews it together himself. He also adds water to his milk to conserve it."
"It just tastes better that way!" Satoshi rebutted defensively. Eru giggled, Satoshi blushed.
"What do you do for a living?" Eru inquired of Hotarou.
"He's a blacksmith!" Satoshi pipped in.
"Really? I thought those were only in fairy tales..." Hotarou rolled his eyes. And pictured blacksmiths as some mythical creature.
"No, we're real."
"What do you do?"
"Lots of different things. But calling me a blacksmith is too specific. I call it more metal working."
"That's true," Satoshi agreed, looking as if he were thinking about it. "Blacksmiths these days don't just work with heavy metal work and the like. He works on technology a lot too. And he's good at what he does."
"Technology?"
"I build the skeletons of some of the machines you see. But I'm not very good with circuitry. That's for the electricians," he said absent-mindedly as he flipped the page of his book.
"Can I see some of it?" Eru asked excitedly.
"I guess...sometime."
"When?"
"When?"
Eru nodded.
Hotarou shrugged. "You could just go home and see it."
"True again! A lot of the rich folk ask for him by name! He's better than anyone in his family ever was!"
"Really? Which company?"
"Black Rose."
"What?!" Eru placed her hand firmly on the table. "You are that company?" Hotarou leaned away from her face a little.
"Yes...?"
"My father adores your work! All railings and everything that could be metal is from you!"
"Thanks...I guess?"
"NO! Thank you!" she clasped his hand in hers. Hotarou blushed and tried to pull his hand away. "Where did you learn to do metal work like that? We have a chandelier that is not only a gorgeous style, but it also has stained glass in it. Did you do that as well?"
"I guess I did..."
"Oh! I cannot believe I have met you in person!" Eru squealed with pure delight.
"C-calm down!" he hissed to her yanking his hand free of her grasp. "People are staring!"
"You are a master at your craft! You must put so much love into your work to make it so beautiful!"
Not really, I don't like my job...he thought. "F-fine. If you just shut up-I mean, if you just keep it down then I'll show you my work tomorrow..."
Eru immediately became quiet, but still had a wide smile on her face. Satoshi nudged Hotarou under the table. Giving him a look of 'you like her, don't you!' he replied with a 'go die if I like her' face then turned back to his novel.
"So what about you, Miss Chitanda?" Satoshi began with a conversation starter, rubbing his fingers on his glass.
"What about me?"
"Well, you want to know about us, don't you think we ought to know about you?"
"There is not much to know other than what you might already know, having worked for the Fuyumi family" she replied simply. "There is not much to our lives."
There's more than you think...Satoshi sighed inwardly. "I know!" he said aloud. "Let's ask Hotarou a question."
"How about, no." Hotarou snorted.
"Why do we go to school then come out only wanting to work?"
"I'm not answering your question."
"Aw come on, Miss Chitanda's curious!"
"I am very curious!" she insisted, her eyes lighting up.
"No."
Eru leaned forward and got in his face. "Why not? Why would you not share this information if you know?"
"I only have theories!" he insisted, turning his head as far away as he could. She stretched farther toward him across the table. They stayed like this for a moment then he gave out because his neck was beginning to hurt.
"Fine. To let you know, I'm not doing this willingly."
"Of course not!" Satoshi smirked sarcastically.
Hotarou gave a last glare at his friend then took a breath and began. "We go to school from about age 2 or 3 on until we're past our early teens. School is long and tedious and, in fact, often requires that we live in thier boarding buildings. The parents of students who live close by are given headsets 'for the benefit of the children' by the school system. These headsets are per-recorded with constant instructions and are worn when the children sleep. The students hear the recordings as they sleep and so learn the instructions subconsciously.
"This has been tested before as a mind-control method, but has been found utterly useless. The children do not apply the phrases they hear during the night to life, they simply remember them without understanding what they mean. But because they are also taught in class these instructions, often watching videos that are attractive to the eye and have memorable characters and scenes, the concepts are enforced. The majority of students that are subject to this often become the brainwashed workers that are of today's poor class.
"For some students, even the most rigorous methods of brainwashing still have little to no effect on them, but this is the minority who is so small that any type of uprising would be squashed in a moment. So these workers work along with the others keeping their mouths closed and heads down."
"So you mean to say that the poor children are brainwashed?" Eru exclaimed. Hotarou put his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet, but nodded all the same. "But why?"
"The poor are taught to never regard themselves as independent of their work. If they must work, which is what the majority believe, why would they need anything else? They are paid even if they don't work, but they do because they've been train to think they do. Even if some don't work, it's not a problem because the majority does.
"And for those who don't work, they're taken care of in a different way." That's for a later time...
"To some extent, though, the rich are brainwashed as well." Eru gave him a curious look. "Certainly not as much as the poor though. The rich are taught to ignore the poor; never to think of anyone who could ever have a life that's any less then how they live. But the most important thing that they are taught and that is enforced everyday of their lives is to buy things. Consumerism."
Satoshi and Eru's eyes grew wide. "Why is it so important?" she asked in complete synchronization.
"Because that's what keeps this who system turning. Can't you see?" Hotarou did the rare motion of gesturing with his hands. "If the rich didn't buy, the poor wouldn't be paid. If the poor aren't paid they may revolt, but what's more likely is interplanetary trade would stop because there's no money. If there's no money the poor starve, get illnesses, and die. The poor die, the rich die. Everyone dies. If everyone dies, who's there to control? The Organization then has two options: die with the rest of humanity, or regenerate and restart. The later is more likely.
"This is a vicious cycle that will never end well...it will never end." Hotarou had been mostly talking to himself at that point, but in that monotone voice talking about such matters was a little unnerving for the other two at the table.
"That's a little morbid, Hotarou..." Satoshi said slowly after a period of silence.
Hotarou looked up at them with a bit of a startled expression. "Well you asked," he replied with snark, but he became quieter and seemed to sink into deep thought.
Eru and Satoshi looked on, wondering what he was thinking, but were a little too put-off to ask any further. They politely chatted until it was fairly dark outside then they split up, each to their home.
Hey all! I'll just let you know now, there should be a new chapter every Friday, so you can look forward to it! and don't forget to review!