Bring a Knife to a Firefight | Atsuko + Jack | Lost Letters Car

Atsuko Samukura

Roadie 🪶Jack “Maybe it was!”

It wasn’t like she expected Jack to actually be worried about it. She couldn’t recall at this point if she actually told him what she had been told, so Atsuko just decided to leave it at that.

Roadie 🪶Jack “And what work would that be?”

Mighty curious, weren’t we?

“…Laundry… decoration… administration…” Once again; this was code for Not Very Much. Laundry stuck out for someone who evidently hated manual labor as much as her. “I don’t like dealing directly with the guests much… Unless they’re telling me how warm and lovely it is. I don’t like dealing with the difficult things in general… meetings… finances…” So what was ‘administration’ supposed to mean if she didn’t do those things?

Roadie 🪶Jack “Destinations’re overrated. What’re you gonna do when you finally get there? Just set another one. At least this way I got plentya wiggle room if somethin’ doesn’t work out.”

Atsuko hummed, but the words didn’t quite sink in, like oil on the surface of the water.

Roadie 🪶Jack “Haha! At this point? Hardly. Not a destination worth aiming for, anyway.””

Was that so?

“…If you have no plans of trying to escape, what would the…” Atsuko cleared her throat. “‘Wiggle room…’” Not a term she used often. “…mean in this case? To me… Wiggle room would mean the ability to leave whenever you want. We’re going from… one car to the next. Not much variation… or freedom.”

She was curious. Jack acted (jacted?) like it was all under control, when they were still at the whims of that… cat thing. And the train itself, seemingly.

“…That, and if you’re thinking ’if things don’t work out,' what your idea of… ‘things working out’ on this train would be.”

Roadie 🪶Jack

Atsuko Samukura

Atsuko Samukura “…Laundry… decoration… administration…”

It wasn’t long into Atsuko’s spiel that Jack lost all interest, but that was the price of asking. Those were supposed to be fun? Granted, he had very little experience with decorating, but…

“Well, if you’re ever bored here, I got soap for laundry.” At a price? Or was he just saying she should do his for him? Unclear.

Atsuko Samukura We’re going from… one car to the next. Not much variation… or freedom.”

“Not sure what that’s s’posed to mean. The bridge’s the same every time, but the cars themselves’re nothing but variety.” For better or for worse.

And more questions, which were starting to get tangled up in his head now. Bah, he had no obligation to answer. To actually think about his future or whatever.

“Listen, ‘s been a great conversation, but I should probably do an actual pass lookin’ for my letter at some point.” Because he definitely hadn’t already found and hoarded it.

“Catch ya in the next car? No take-backs on that invitation.” The invitation she explicitly hadn’t given? All right.

Atsuko Samukura

Roadie 🪶Jack

Roadie 🪶Jack “Well, if you’re ever bored here, I got soap for laundry.”

Atsuko had to wonder if Jack understood her despite the warnings she’d given him. Perhaps he was just wondering to see how far she was willing to go when it was her against his surplus of knives.

“…I don’t do it for fun. If I’m truly that bored, I’d rather just take a nap. Or maybe do someone else’s laundry.” Yeah, there was definitely something up with that. Atsuko seemed like the type to hate such a menial task, and yet…

Roadie 🪶Jack “Not sure what that’s s’posed to mean. The bridge’s the same every time, but the cars themselves’re nothing but variety.”

Jack couldn’t even understand something as simple as this? Of course, it would make more sense to Atsuko later, but to Atsuko right now…

“…It’s still cars on a train. I don’t… claim to know how this all works, but we’re not actually going anywhere. It seems to me like… no matter how many sights you see, it’s still the train. We’re just going wherever the next car is—no freedom of choice in that.”

Roadie 🪶Jack “Listen, ‘s been a great conversation, but I should probably do an actual pass lookin’ for my letter at some point.”

Uh-huh. Atsuko hadn’t believed most of what Jack was doing up to this point regardless, but wasn’t quite able to figure out what the alleged ‘gift card’ was meant to be, so she let it slide.

Roadie 🪶Jack “Catch ya in the next car? No take-backs on that invitation.”

“…Depends on how big it is. I prefer acting alone, but I suppose if it’s another a car this size, I can’t avoid an audience.” The innkeeper let out a sigh. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

That was definitely an interesting way of saying ‘goodbye.’ Because Atsuko was off to do… Atsuko things. She did plan to write her letter… eventually.

« Previous Page