Eye of the Needle: Into the Reikai

DeMain I: Introduction

How much would you give up for change?

DeMain Rich. Not a name you really thought much of, at least not in any well-regarded lights. In a small town, DeMain had been born to a small family with no real ties to the area, and he was poor. Rusted gas oven and broken windows poor. Getting up early every Tuesday to be in the food pantry line before they ran out poor. You get the picture, and you've probably heard the story before.

DeMain himself wasn't really a stand-out looker, among his peers he would probably be the least interesting one in appearance. Chestnut skin with some freckles across his nose and the rest of him coated in the wear and tear of late teenage years—acne, flaky skin, and uneven body hair. DeMain thought he was pretty basic in looks too. His hair was long, dense, and curly black, but it lacked any sheen to make it stand out and it was annoyingly coarse if he didn't treat it properly. Sometimes he put it into locks, but his parents claimed he'd look more 'professional' if it were shorter or eye-length at best, so he did when he could. Right now it was bound up into some bare-bones cornrows his mom had done for him, but it was mostly just to keep his hair flat and away from his ears and face. DeMain wished he could have a cool eye color like he saw occasionally in shows that played on shop TVs or in the demo games in some stores he visited, but unfortunately he'd been born with a deep brown that almost looked unnervingly black.

DeMain's father, Isaiah Rich, was a mechanic who did mostly routine work in an auto shop. He wasn't skilled enough at the craft yet to do anything freelance or that could make them a lot of money, especially not in the beat-streets. His shop couldn't even pull the usual scam of upcharging gullible people because chances were they'd just decide not to pay, leaving both of them shit out of luck in the end.

DeMain's mom was a sweet woman he almost forgot the name of with how little he referred to her as anything besides 'mom'. Her real name was Beatrice, but DeMain's dad typically just called her 'Bea'. She worked odd jobs here and there to try and cover costs where she could. Sometimes she'd babysit, she was nice enough looking that people didn't immediately distrust her. Kids with busy parents who had no time to watch them were plentiful in the area too, most of those who lived in-city were in the same situations. Bless his mother's charitable heart, she was too nice on costs, and sometimes she'd come back with less than she wanted for the sake of a single mom whose husband got stopped and jailed or... worse.

Both of his parents had arrived fresh in town a few months ago after his dad's most recent factory job down south had gone out the window, meaning they had to move yet again to wherever the grass shone just a bit greener. He was at least able to keep some of the credentials, though few, since the previous factory dealt with automotive parts.

This kind of thing happened all the time, and DeMain swore his family must be cursed. They used to go on picnics every Sunday after church, but his dad ended up working weekends to keep up with the influx of customers on those days. His mom decided to take him out to some ice cream shops when he was younger, but DeMain mostly refused this now because he didn't want to make her spend more money than she had to on him. Good things left faster than they came, but hope never quit. Maybe 'cursed' wasn't the right word for it, but they were all so busy that the few times they got together for actual dinners were more cherished moments than standard nightly events. It just made them look forward to it more, even if conversations were stale or topics were dry.

Things weren't comfortable, but DeMain's parents insisted things would turn to a brighter future if they just had a little faith. DeMain knew it was important to have hope and all that crap, but he felt bad watching his mom put their hard-earned savings into the church basket every week. She insisted that other people needed it more, but he didn't see anyone but the pastor pocketing the change. Still though, DeMain knew not to question her too hard about it, otherwise she'd lecture him for hours about how her faith had done miracles in the past. He didn't quite know how to explain it from the perspective of a 16 year-old that a mother would bother listening to, especially in a convincing way. This was made especially difficult since his parents insisted he focus all of his attention on his classes and graduate before getting a job to help out--basically, he had no adult responsibilities, and he couldn't question them on theirs. What a great situation to be in.