Mr. Nothing: Drowning

Operator Record Drowning
He bid farewell to the kindness of the city, but cannot escape the hatred that follows him.

Unlock conditions

• Raise Mr. Nothing to Elite 2 Level 1.
• Have at least 50% Trust with Mr. Nothing.

Characters

"Mr. Chasteberry" Chi Goon Heroine? Street Loafer Tavern Owner

Backgrounds

1 2 3 4 5

“

The evening before he bids farewell to Kou-wu City, Mr. Nothing is drawn into an incident without warning, and for his trouble gains word about his master's school.

”

<Background 1>
[Mr. Nothing, then known under the alias "Mr. Chasteberry", is being called by a street loafer.]
Street Loafer	To Mr. Chasteberry! To Chasteboy. How about we dedicate this one to your bright future? Goodbye to the days of your street stand!
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Ah, I see you've preempted me. Cheers.
Street Loafer	Figured out where you're going yet?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Not yet. "Farther" is the only direction I have right now. I'll take what luck I find, I suppose.
Street Loafer	I remember you said you'd been to Kou-wu City before?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Yes, and all through the towns about Kou-wu. A shame I couldn't scrape by in any of them.
Street Loafer	Apparently not here either? Feels like you only arrived just yesterday. Haven't experienced the best of good old Yün-shui yet? Ah... whatever. Who hasn't got problems? Look at me, can't find a damn job anywhere, hahaha. Here, one more round.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Now, now, let's not rush to our drink. Otherwise, how will you write my letter?
Street Loafer	Oh! Right, right, right, gotta write your letter. Let's get that out of the way first then? The sooner that's done, the sooner we can drink.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Here, pen and paper. How's your pen-hand, steady?
Street Loafer	Guaranteed. What do I write?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Hm... start with this: "Young Master Ch'u has gained a noble's guidance, and found meteoric success."
Street Loafer	Sure, let's do this. Uh, how do you spell "guidance"?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Let me do it with a quick dab of wine. Like this. Ah, you've skipped over the... oh, so be it, it does no harm. Continuing... "His voyage to the capital is long and well, of vistas' breadth and wealth. He invites his parents not to be concerned."
Street Loafer	Gotcha. Hey, how do you know this young master guy anyway? If he's got it so good, how come he's not helping you out?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er... his mastery is in the cuisine of gloompincer glass noodle pot. And a fine pot he makes, I might add. He's off to the capital to be a personal chef. Ah, but a chef must be very careful in doling attention. There are innumerable cuisines across our realm's compass, and oh how they fume at the sight of each other. Your fellow cooks will jeer at your dishes' very orthodoxy.
Street Loafer	That bad?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Think of this: the capital is chock-full of people who'll only stomach sugared rice dumplings, never salted.
Street Loafer	Okay, that's pretty bad.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	And there you have it. There are depths even I am not quite willing to ford.
Street Loafer	Yeah, but I've seen you at your street stall. Selling fortunes and feng shui to fried tofu skewers—you just don't seem the pro chef type, y'know? Is he ignoring you? 'Cause your skills don't cut it or whatever?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	*Sigh* Not a topic I'm partial to... While he was still a chef's understudy, we as fellow disciples cared for him a great deal. Those estranged bonds weigh heavy on his mind, here in his forced departure. He's looked all over for a companion, or at least a shoulder to lean on in times of need, yet how unkind that his road should be too fraught for it. In the end, he could only settle for another writing a letter for him. Don't you see now? His rapport with me stands head and shoulders above. If not, why would he task me with this letter?
Street Loafer	Oh... when you put it that way, yeah. What do I write next, then? When your disciple buddy can fetch his parents for some fun at the capital? Or when he'll be free to head back home?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er... now that, I must admit, I am unsure of. Leave it at that, I say. You'll write another letter for me, and we'll drink a good bit more. Proprietor, more wine!
Tavern Owner	Aye! On its way.
Street Loafer	I like that. Brotherly.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	But of course. We could hardly dispense with drinking well, before I leave. Now. In this one, you write: "Your good son has passed. Hold your peace, and set no foot into kung fu's affairs."
Street Loafer	Your good son... has passed... huh?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Phew... best not ask, I wager.
Street Loafer	Wha? Uh, okay. Y'know, now that I think about it, if you're so good at all this writing stuff, why do you need me to—
[Suddenly a group of thugs forced their way into the tavern and start trashing it...]
Street Loafer	A-Are they wrecking the place?!
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Hurry, over here!
[...prompting Mr. Chasteberry and the loafer to head into safety.]
<Background 2>
[After reaching an underground storeroom, Mr. Chasteberry and the loafer stops running.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	My, what a dear, rotten shame. At least I wasn't caught flat-footed.
Street Loafer	*huff*... Where is this? Since when'd the tavern connect to a place like this?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er, I may have been incautious in my haste. I've not the slightest clue either.
Fierce Voice	Kid! You got booze, and you're not gonna serve?
Owner's Voice	O-On it...
Fierce Voice	Is this all the money you got at this place? I'm dying here!
Owner's Voice	It's winter... Business is in a slump.
Fierce Voice	Your business is a beggar and you still wanna be a chooser. The Miss don't even think you're half bad, and what, you think the Chis are too good for you? Scared to take that step?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	(The Chis...?)
Street Loafer	Jeez, those guys again?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Might you catch me up?
Street Loafer	It's love stuff. The Chis' oldest girl in Kou-wu got eyes for the barkeep there, love at first sight and all, but he doesn't see her the same, so she sends people over to stir shit with him every now and then.
Fierce Voice	Heh, so you've got sights on someone else. Who's this cruddy little bracelet for, huh?
Owner's Voice	It's not—
Fierce Voice	I'll be taking it for the Miss, thanks.
Street Loafer	Man, how rude can you get?!
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Quite true, why wouldn't the proprietor just accept? He'd have fame and fortune overnight! He'd never so much as want again.
Street Loafer	Bud. Seriously? Sure, we're poor, but that doesn't mean we don't got pride. Principles. I think we oughta get out there right now and—
"Mr. Chasteberry"	What say we report this to the authorities?
Street Loafer	Huh?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Now, now, we should be far from impetuous here. Our proprietor may have dealt us a kindness, but by my reading of the feng shui, charging in would hardly do any good. Not to mention the Chi family's a veritable juggernaut in Kou-wu. If we land in their bad books, they might well hound us to the ends of Terra, for whatever time we have left on it.
Street Loafer	*Sigh*... You got a point. Sorry, barkeep!
<Background 3>
[While standing in front of the streets, offering his services, someone approaches Mr. Chasteberry.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Feng shui, divination, acupuncture, and massage! Centuries of knowledge, passed down the Chasteberry line, at your service, customer— Er, if it isn't the proprietor. Heh, heh. Uh, how's your body holding up? Perhaps a plaster here or there for your terrible bruises?
Tavern Owner	I want to ask about my feng shui.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Not a problem. Finding the qi, seeking the spot, averting calamity, and amassing fortune, all at your disposal. Ask away.
Tavern Owner	It's calamity. I want you to find a way to stop something terrible.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er, might I ask what sort of calamity...?
Tavern Owner	You know what it is, Mr. Chasteberry.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	......
Tavern Owner	And I know you're in debt. You need money.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Ah... Yes, yes, yes, that was certainly the case. Those manhunters... er, well, debt collectors, were quite the brutes. You have my appreciation for showing me your hidden door, and letting me hide for a good while. I did want to prostrate in thanks, but you wouldn't have it, so now I'll kneel thrice over—
Tavern Owner	You don't need to, sir. I'm all but willing to break the bank to avoid the worst this time, so please, help me as much as you can. I have an old bracelet that got taken yesterday. It's not precious, but it is a memento my mother left to me.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	So it was no romantic keepsake then. Your mother, as I recall, is...
Tavern Owner	She's gone. The money comes second. I just want that memory of her back.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	To be entrusted such a melancholic token, only to have it stolen away. It breaks the heart, it truly does. But unfortunately, this is no matter for the guidance of feng shui. My hands are utterly tied. Here, though, proprietor, I did report the case to the authorities yesterday. Wait a while longer, and word should come to you very soon.
Tavern Owner	Those troublemakers know how to toe the line. I've reported things before. First they couldn't find any evidence, then there wasn't enough to open a case. Not to mention that some silver bracelet wouldn't be worth a second look in the eyes of a Chi noble. I'm more worried they'll just toss it away somewhere and I'll never know. That's why I want you to buy it back for me. Last night, you were... there, more or less. If you just pretend it struck your fancy and you'd like to buy it, those aristocrats shouldn't think too much of it. Obviously, the cash'll come from me.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er, I worry such a request, ever so ornate, might not quite ring true, coming from my mouth. Proprietor, what say you ruminate on this some more?
Tavern Owner	You mean, you won't do it.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Indeed. I am quite keen on not dying. Hahah, hah. I may have a chivalrous heart, yes, but I'm not quite that able.
Tavern Owner	*Sigh*. That's too bad, then. I thought you were some traveling hero too, always holding that fan.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	"Too"? Er, we are in the modern age, are we not? Do people still pronounce themselves such things?
Tavern Owner	They do. A young heroine came through town two years ago. She loved fighting for others, upholding justice every day. She could knock somebody out with just her fan. But I hear she got foiled by one of the Chis. *Sigh* She's been missing ever since.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	...There's a shame.
Tavern Owner	So you really don't have any... amazing kung fu techniques, or self-taught Originium Arts, or whatever?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Hardly. How could I? If I did, I would've gone to be a Tianshi in a heartbeat, no?
Tavern Owner	So all your geomancy skills...
"Mr. Chasteberry"	*cough* More knowledge than skills, really. But I do have some small faith in my calligraphy—how about I decorate a fan for you? Would you like "Riches by the day"? Or maybe, "Friendship is wealth"?
Tavern Owner	No thanks. It's winter.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Hahah, quite right. Proprietor, where would I go were I to seek these Chi henchmen?
<Background 4>
[Mr. Chasteberry stands in an alley.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Alas. The car is bought, my Messenger identity perfected, and a letter to my parents on its way. Let's have no mess despoiling this vital juncture. While the Chi may have enmity for my master... two thugs harassing a tavern proprietor shouldn't know me by face. Even if I am rustled, that's just one more escape to make. ...If only I knew whether my schoolsister was alive or not. Finding my fellow disciples' whereabouts would at least afford me some support, traveling about these lands.
<Background 5>
[Mr. Chasteberry approaches two thugs.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Ahem. Excuse me, the two of you.
Chi Goon	What are you doing here, fortune-teller?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	I'll be forthright. Yesterday, and while I do think he ought to heed, you taught that poor boy at Ju-i Tavern a lesson in place of your good Miss, and I happened to be present.
Chi Goon	...No one was there.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	The rear kitchen. I was in the rear kitchen. Now, don't get me wrong, I think of you as welldoers, welldoers of particular note, and that boy really has no tact.
Chi Goon	Hmph. Get to the point.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er, here it is then... the proprietor's silver bracelet. The thing I notice you're using to cover your instant noodles on the table. Might you be willing to let it change hands? As I see it, were you to give it to the Miss of the family, it might only further prove her irascibility. Besides, it's of poor purity, and not particularly treasurable by any means, so it wouldn't suit your noble statures either, I fear. ...I'll be honest with you two, I'd like to buy this bracelet as a present for my mother in her fine age. She's not keen on whatever's making waves back home; it's rustic designs like this she's about. Well. I'll just put the money here, and if you give me a nod, I could certainly never thank you enough. The both of you would be great benefactors to me, yes. That's right, how about a divination? Free of charge—
<Background black>
[Suddenly the lights went out...]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er? Is it right that this tavern suffers power outages?
[...as Mr. Chasteberry gets shot from the darkness.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	—Erk. (Are those hidden weapons?) My, now! I hardly thought myself so poor a portent that'd we'd have an electrical failure... Apologies, then, for inconveniencing you two!
[Someone attacked Mr. Chasteberry from the darkness, who managed to parry it.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	(How very peculiar. Why capture me all of a sudden? Was my intent to retrieve the proprietor's goods too obvious?)
Hidden Voice	Seize him.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	(There's a partition behind the wall...?) Well, excuse me, you two! I'll be off to the front desk to report the fault now!
[Mr. Chasteberry runs off.]
<Background 4>
[After running for a while, Mr. Chasteberry stops.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	...No one's still tailing, by the looks of it. A fair enough outcome. I didn't lose my life, and the dark let me filch the bracelet in the process. *Sigh* Not that the proprietor will be able to remain here for long, it seems. This disaster is of my own making, yet once again I've drawn others into it... A shame I am to the Ch'u name. But that voice behind the partition can't have been a trick of the ears, can it...?
Hidden Voice	...An umbrella-maker?
Woman's Voice	Mm. It's that Ch'u boy, there's no mistake. I still recognize him, even if he's not using his fan or kickboxing.
Hidden Voice	No wonder none of them could touch him.
Woman's Voice	I'll follow the goods.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Alas... I suppose I needn't even seek my schoolsister, really. The path here is a dead end. Once I return and make reparations at the tavern, I'll scarper in the night.
<Background 1>
[Mr. Chasteberry runs into the tavern...]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Proprietor, if I could have a word—
[...and noticed that the owner is talking with a woman.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	......
Tavern Owner	Oh, Mr. Chasteberry, you came at a just the right time. Look, this is the heroine I mentioned to you earlier. I didn't expect—
"Mr. Chasteberry"	—With such a fortuitous coincidence, I simply must ask you allow me to read your palm, good heroine. Come, place down your fan for now.
Heroine?	Mr. Chasteberry, was it?
Tavern Owner	Er, he's always like this, sorry. Please put up with him. By the way, your palm-reading sucks. Nothing you said last time was even close to right.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Come, now, at least I didn't have you pay for it. Not a worry, heroine, my first sight of you is of fine significance; this fortune's free of charge. If you require, I can bring out the hexagram for a momentary divination as well.
Heroine?	Go on, sir.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Judging by your palm, you must have lived in Kou-wu City in the springs of your youth.
Heroine?	Mm-hm, true. But I can say you belong to Kou-wu City too. I knew it at a glance.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	We must always from the shallows to the depths. Allow me to continue—there is a benefactor in your life.
Heroine?	Many have shown me kindness.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	This benefactor is not a parent, yet has impacted your life for ten and some years—you must have had some eminent teacher, I presume? Surely, this teacher spoke that, in our realm of such human wrongdoing, someone must be there to remedy. Hence why you became a savior to the folk of Yün-shui.
Heroine?	...In general, true.
Tavern Owner	That's still just an educated guess though, isn't it? Who hasn't gone to school before? Who hasn't had a teacher tell them how to be a good person?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	This was born of no conjecture, I tell you. Heroine, truth be told, inauspiciousness lies in these lines. May I take the liberty to ask, have you returned to this benefactor of yours to call on them, in recent years? ...Do you still dwell on her?
Heroine?	...She died.
Tavern Owner	She died? That's awful to hear.
Heroine?	She was old by that point, but still as determined to wade through as when she was young. Once it came high tide and the waves rose up, she lost her footing, never to stand back up again.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	......
Tavern Owner	Man, what a way to go.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	To adopt both feng and shui, to seize upon the currents when they're right. Is that not what marks the smartest of us?
Heroine?	What's smartest is not going near the water at all. Spring tides have been ticking high these past two years. People who keep watch on them have even gotten swept in, gone missing. Even when someone actually finds them, all that's left might be a body.
Tavern Owner	*Sigh* And the authorities keep repeating the warning every year, but there's always some kind of accident every few days.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Indeed, a shame, a frightful shame. I've angled by the waterside in my everyday, heard of people falling in, and been unable to resist rushing to fish them out. Never caught a single one.
Tavern Owner	You never seemed so kindhearted to me.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Here now, life and death is no trifling matter.
Heroine?	No, I do trust in your loyalty, sir. Divine through my future for me, please.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Ah, yes, yes, let me see... Your future is difficult to pin down. There's a bump in your way, but it shouldn't be difficult to surmount.
Tavern Owner	Don't say anything about going broke or avoiding whatever. Make it nice this time.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Heroine, you are chivalrous first, and graceful to many second. I imagine the fine Heavens shouldn't want to blight you any—hear, now, I'm not charging for these auspicious words.
Tavern Owner	Aren't the chivalry and grace the same thing?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	*Sigh* Not quite. Here, we've been chatting for a formidable while. Perhaps this calls for a spot of wine?
Tavern Owner	Oh. I've been so preoccupied with this, I forgot to even treat my guests. Sure, this is perfect. I've got something I want to tell you too, heroine. Let me get some good wine.
[The tavern owner leaves to get some wine.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	......
Heroine?	......
"Mr. Chasteberry"	I'm to let go, then?
Heroine?	We haven't compared our kung fu in a while, schoolbrother. More guidance, if you will.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Pardon me, then, schoolsister!
<Background fades out>
Master, I've finished cooking. Gloompincer glass noodle pot. I learned it from the head chef while part-timing. Would you try it? I've thought about it, of course I have. You've long made it clear that I'm the last disciple of the Liens, and that after I find a fine job, you can rest in retirement. Who know where my fellow disciples have gone, given that they haven't come to see you these last two years. Alas, I'd love to ask how they're getting by these days. If only they could help me out, I would love nothing more. As you instruct... When this kung fu tournament is over, I'll go see how my parents are doing again. If there really is no way on, I'll return to the life of a farmer. Even if it's just fending off a wild beast for the people at home, at least I won't be disgracing the Lien kung fu. —Have you still not finished... this teaching of the Lien style?
<Background fades in>
[Mr. Chasteberry and the heroine fights against each other, and the former gained an upper hand.]
"Mr. Chasteberry"	...A good bout.
Heroine?	...You won by a move.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	I'm shouldering great expectations and can't afford to die. That's all. When all my schoolbrothers and sisters had gone, it was just my most dull self who hadn't heard what was coming, and our master was forced to teach her remaining styles to me alone...
Heroine?	Our master never misjudged anyone. What she didn't teach the rest of us were the lifetakers. The killing moves. Why did you stop?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	It's a mere contest; we only need communicate the gist. The proverb puts it well: never burn your bridges, no?
Heroine?	You know it was your enemy who sent me, and to put you down.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Mm, that I know. You're here for two items. The proprietor's bracelet is one, and my head is the other. Though, now you could easily tell them how that Ch'u fellow escaped again. With how many times I've slipped from their grasp—and how you can't jump off walls—it's only natural that no single soul could catch me.
Heroine?	And why settle this like that? Because I'm 'chivalrous first, graceful to many second'?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	But of course. When my parents came to see me at Lien's in those bygone years, you all threw your matches on purpose, let me win a bout or two, and gave my family the impression to this day that I was some martial prodigy. My master knew sugared plum preserves were a fixture of my hometown, and always provided a few extra, for which you never vied with me. If we're truly honest, all of you of the Lien style have done me great grace. I, humble Ch'u, could never forget. —Besides, those sunken into the great spring tides are hardly at liberty to choose for themselves.
Heroine?	Heh. You know it's not my own will... and you'd still fish me out?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	...Schoolsister, our master died by my doing. No matter the schemes encircling us, that boy died by my fist, and for the sake of a disciple as disappointing as I, she... I can only say I've shamed the style. All the kung fu my master taught, I haven't the face to use. Only just now, in our pitting of the style, did I have the will to compare our learnings.
Heroine?	We're together in the water here; you think you can count on me to fish you up? But I saw your fan, and the words on it. If the master gave you it, you shouldn't be disappointing her.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	That only further dissuades me from action. The master's kung fu shouldn't be spent on all this folly.
Heroine?	Is your mind that made up? Then I thank you for your mercy, schoolbrother.
[The heroine leaves just as the tavern owner returns.]
Tavern Owner	Heroine—ah, where is she? Why are you all alone there now?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	There was a commotion outside just now, and she went off after it.
Tavern Owner	I see. I did hear fighting while I was in the cellar, and the sound of a fan opening and shutting. I suppose she took them on.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	I'd imagine so too. You must stay out of it, now. Don't peek out until later. Oh, yes, and here's your bracelet.
Tavern Owner	You actually went to get it...?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	It's always a painful thing to lose what the deceased left behind. I just couldn't help but sympathize—ah, that said, proprietor, no skimping on the reward now.
Tavern Owner	Thank you, thank you. Your reward? No problem.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Erm, and also, I exhort you to be wary in the coming days. Leave Yün-shui at your earliest opportunity, I'd say...
Tavern Owner	You pissed them off?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Er, they are... somewhat pissed off, yes.
Tavern Owner	...... Well, thanks a billion, then.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	I truly am sorry! Proprietor, let me make it up to you! How about another divination? You might... still be in luck, no?
Tavern Owner	*Sigh* It's fine. It's been hard doing business here anyhow, what with the Chis bearing down on the place. Here's the reward we agreed on. Not one fen less.
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Ah. Many thanks, fine owner. Right, yes, proprietor, do you still have any of those candied plums?
Tavern Owner	Quite a lot, yeah. You wanted 'em?
"Mr. Chasteberry"	Mm, I'm preparing to wander afar. I'd enjoy some to eat along the way.
<Background black>
You let the Ch'u boy slip? My fault. But I did see him in the middle of the night, escaping by car to the east.