He’d trained for Total Victory. Not necessarily for what comes after.

[itmeanstruth]

Those that ventured out to Minoru’s world to watch this year’s American Ninja Warrior Finals live and in person, knew exactly why the resident hospital orderly had been on freerunning across Cloud 9 since he got back. Those who couldn’t make it out there might have caught an interdimensional replay on TV. The twins had already seen it playing on one of the many screens in The Angel’s Retreat.

To those who hadn’t, though, Minoru’s question was entirely hypothetical, an innocuous kind of thing lots of people chatted about after a long week at work. And perhaps that was for the best.

“Okay, so… if you suddenly had a million dollars, what would you do with it?”

Comments

[itmeanstruth]

“Why not? I already have a whole separate savings account set up for fines and stuff.” He admitted a bit sheepishly. “The Nexus is a lot nicer to freerunners than a lot of the cities in my world are, that’s for sure.”

Well, you have to budget for your hobbies. And it just so happened that Minoru’s hobby required a ‘yeah, I know, I was trespassing, again’ fund.

“Oh…you mean save for retirement? That kind of thing?”

[oprorsk_sode]

Mikkel couldn't really argue with Minoru's logic even if he still thought that wasn't what the finance guy had meant.

"Or if you break an ankle and can't work." Mikkel sounded worried. And he was, both for himself and Minoru. "I almost had that happen once when I fell on stage and then I went hungry because I didn't have anything."

The Dane didn't realize how much his past weighed on him. Sure, his family was wealthy but his experience was more of a street kid. If something went wrong things could get bad quickly. Even if is life was significantly more stable and there were people to look after him those feelings lingered.

"I guess living with your brother would help though."

[itmeanstruth]

“Oh! For like, insurance and stuff.” Minoru nodded. “Some of that’s already paid through the hospital, where I work.”

He said some, because he honestly wasn’t sure how much he had or what it covered. He just did what the hospital folks recommended he do. Health, life, disability, there was some mix of company plans he was enrolled in. So far, everything worked out all right - even when he was on crutches for a few weeks after last year’s ANW Finals. A sprained ankle was probably one of the more benign things an Interdimensional plane of existence needed to insure for.

“It’s better than what Isamu gets at IRIS. He’s told me that a couple times.” He added, scratching his head. Granted, his brother’s work was being funded by a research grant. He got a stipend, not a salary. “Plus, he’s got a ton of student loans he’s still trying to pay off. I can definitely help wipe those clean now!”

[oprorsk_sode]

"Oh." Mikkel hadn't realized jobs gave you those things since most od the people he knew were rockstars and the clubs certainly didn't give him insurance.

"The clubs don't give dancers that and.. I'm not even sure I can get any because I'm not an American." Mikkel had a lot of questions for someone more adult than he was.

"I think Rik and Ollie did things like that. They helped pay off the house Ollie grew up in." Mikkel wondered if there was anything like that he could do but everyone around had more money than he did.

[itmeanstruth]

He wasn’t sure whether being an American or not made a difference in Mikkel’s universe. He honestly wasn’t sure if it made a difference in his own. Minoru technically worked in the Nexus now, which was different from both of those places.

“All the hospitals I’ve worked at have had something like that.” He added. “But a lot of the jobs I had before that didn’t. Not like I was working in any of them long enough to need benefits…”

It really did depend. But the Nexus, hands down, was a great place to work.

[oprorsk_sode]

Mikkel hadn't ever thought about working in the Nexus though he had been to Balthazar's bar more than once and knew there were dancing poles.

"I've only had two jobs." Mikkel wasn't even sure tattooing counted as a job since he didn't work at a shop. "I've been dancing for almost 5 years but I think people change clubs too much, maybe?" That made sense in Mikkel's mind. Why would a business pay for something you'd never be around to use?

[itmeanstruth]

“Is is the third hospital I’ve worked at. Whenever Isamu moved for school, I went with him. I guess there’s more turnover on the night shift, so it wasn’t too hard to get hired on.”

A couple years here, a couple years there. He thrived in the fast-paced environment of a busy hospital.

“I guess that’s one question I’m gonna get asked a lot once everyone sees the show, and knows I won.” He scratched his head. “With a million dollars, I don’t have to still work as an orderly. I don’t want to leave, though. I like what I do.”

[oprorsk_sode]

Mikkel shrugged because he didn't really understand all of it. He did think he would try to get something in case he was injured.

"All the rock stars still work." Mikkel pointed out. Some of them were incredibly wealthy or getting there, at least from Mikkel's viewpoint. "Rekker told me how much it costs to own his house. He said he has to pay more than twice what I make in a year and he owns it. Hunter said the same about his house in Sweden." Taxes confused Mikkel even after more than one person tried to explain it to him. All he knew was that he had to pay part of what he made while in the US to the government.

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru’s eyes widened. Houses could cost that much?! He was pretty sure his parents owned their house. They’d been there for almost thirty years, after all. They never mentioned it costing that much, but it wasn’t like Minoru had ever asked.

“Geez, better add ‘ask my parents how much their house costs’ to that list.”

Taxes were confusing even for someone who was born there. (Never mind how confusing they were for someone who technically worked inter-dimensionally… you think being a doctor in the Nexus is rough, try being an accountant…)

[oprorsk_sode]

Mikkel frowned with worry since it seemed like his friend was going through a lot of stress.

"Maybe ask where you're going to live?" Mikkel thought that was good idea. Different countries cost different amounts. LA was very expensive compared to where he grew up.

"Can I ask you a question about houses?" Mikkel was thinking now and had his own questions.

[itmeanstruth]

Forget different countries. How about different dimensions?

“If I’m going to buy a house, I want to do it here. In the Nexus.”

It was where he worked, after all. And where Isamu had his research grant. He wasn’t sure how long those grants lasted, but his brother hadn’t said anything about it coming to an end. So, for the foreseeable future, this was their home.

“Yeah. Sure.” He added. “Go ahead.”