thenearshore | 19 | Peaceful Departure

19 | Peaceful Departure

Who: Everyone!
What: Celebrating Obon
When: Evening August 10
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: Mortals may be partying, but there's lots of work for the denizens of the Far Shore to do.

It's the final day of Obon and spirits are being sent back to their homes -- both the ancestral spirits that have been welcomed home for the duration of the festival and the mischievous spirits that have been plaguing the Heavens. But some of them might not go easy, so Amaterasu has requested that gods and shinki old and new alike help ensure the spirits' peaceful departure.

Mukae-bi

Fires have been lit on hillsides and near cemeteries to lead the spirits back to their resting places and to protect them on their way, but angry ghosts and ayakashi are trying to quench the fires so they can attack weaker spirits. Keep the firewood stocked and the fires blazing high while you fight off the attacks.

Heavenly Exorcisms

Guarding the Gates

Hidden pathways into the underworld in caves throughout Japan are open from sunset to moonset on this night to allow the spirits who have temporarily left to return. Gods and shinki must watch over these pathways and ensure that no dangerous ayakashi take the opportunity to escape from the underworld before the moon sets.

After-party

After the moon sets, the denizens of the Heavens can finally kick back. Everyone is invited to a private hot spring on the Far Shore, where a midnight banquet spread is waiting in thanks for their hard work. Wash off any blight in the hot springs and enjoy the banquet before heading back home for a good night's sleep.

In Summary:

Keep the fires burning
Exorcise those annoying spirits
Fight powerful ayakashi
Enjoy a banquet
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Yeah, Shizuo didn't really care about the plate of food. When the smaller blond staggers, the one that was at the same height as another blond with sunglasses holds out his unbound arm to catch and steady the guy.

Man, talk about looking sickly or something. ]

Ah... Maybe try sitting down? No offense, but you look like shit.

[ Looks similar, but sounds nothing like Izumo. ]

[ Tatara might have toppled if not thanks to this stranger, whose appearance is so familiar it nearly has him doing a double-take. Kusanagi-san...? Close, but no cigar. Although, with choice words like that, well...

He’s more similar to Izumo than he thinks. ]

Eh heh, sorry. [ He’ll take that seat now, definitely. ]

I’ll be just fine in a moment, promise. [ A beat. ] Thank you for keeping me from falling! I really appreciate it.

[ The main difference is that Shizuo's saying this to a stranger. Also the actual voice timbre and range are different. Izumo would probably be more 'delicate' if he were speaking to a stranger. Probably. ~~That's what Shizuo figures, at least. Simply because Izumo has 'social skills.'~~

Letting the guy sit down, Shizuo leans back to where he was. The food can be picked up in a bit- it's not like there's a rush. ]

Yeah, no problem. The hell were you doing to wear yourself out that much?

[ He's assuming that's what brought the stranger to almost fall. ]

[ True enough, Izumo has a bit more decorum than to speak like that to a stranger. He's a bartender, after all -- part of his job is to merry-make and socialize, luring in new customers, convincing them to spend more money. But Tatara's used to being spoken to like this by Izumo, with as long as they've known each other. ]

Huh? Aah, just helping out with the fires on the hillside... [ He takes a long, self-steadying breath, face then pulling up into a sheepish smile. ] Guess it took more out of me than I thought it would...!

[ And the Understatement of the Month Award goes to... ]

[ Shizuo certainly knows how to speak to customers and keep them around at the bar. Of course he does, though Tatara's never seen the lookalike covering for Izumo at the Double Cross. Now he's got the first impression of someone helpful but crass. ]

'Than you thought'...? No shit it did. So what, you didn't go and take breaks?

[ Shizuo, neither did you, so shut up. You're also the worst about knowing your limits. ]

I guess it's better that you're falling over yourself here instead of around the ayakashi.

[ Tatara's never seen the man before, no -- not even at the Double Cross, where he occasionally does dishes. (Of course, he's been largely off-duty in the wake of his recent loss.) ]

Mm-mm. There was no time for that.

[ Even so, that wasn't the issue; the problem lies in him using Sakon's power on a loan too great for his body to pay back. ]

Aah... at least we cleared them out!

Bullshit there wasn't time. You're not the only one who was out there. Tch... Its already done and over with now, so it's not like there's a point to being annoyed.

[ Even more, it's not like this was any of his business to lecture some stranger about whatever they were doing to get to this sorry state. ]

... Wait here. I'll go replace your food. We don't need a repeat of anything.

[ He's used to this kind of chiding, too. Tatara just shrinks a bit, shoulders rising in a shrug. What's to be done about it now? The past is past. Nevertheless-- ]

You remind me of someone, you know.

[ But that's all he gets out before Shizuo is apparently going to re-fetch his food. ]

Aah, don't sweat it! You don't have to do that--!

[ Tatara's pleas are likely falling on deaf ears by now. ]

I should probably rest, anyway...

[ Not entirely deaf ears, and the plate he puts together is pretty much what was spilled out onto the floor. Shizuo doesn't wait long for the guy to take the offered plate before sitting down himself. ]

Eating's part of resting.

[ Hope you don't mind that he's going to smoke once his hand's free though, Tatara. Because that's exactly what's going to happen. ]

You said I remind you of someone... So I'm gonna take that to mean you know Izumo.

[ He'll take the plate here with a note of thanks, simply because he's not rude.

And no, of course he doesn't mind the smoke -- not with his two best friends being horrendous, incessant smokers themselves. It's not Tatara's cup of tea, to say the least, but he won't judge or attempt to prohibit it, nor chide, however gently.

His expression shifts dramatically at mention of Izumo. ]

Huh? You know Kusanagi-san?

[ Izumo is his elder, and at least the same in rank, if not slightly (or unofficially) above him. He addresses the man respectfully. ]

Do you really think two people, who seem alike enough to get mixed up, can go around very long without knowing each other? It happens enough that we may as well consider each other brothers.

[ Which seems to be safe enough on the borderline of what a shinki can and can't think about. The line was when they really tried to think if that was the case.

So the obvious solution was to not think about it too much. ]

Well, there's other reasons on top of that...

Aah, I guess you've got a point.

[ They're not brothers; not by blood. That much Tatara can say for certain, though not aloud. Of course, he knows more than enough about adoptive families whose bonds far surpass any blood relation, so if Shizuo wants to consider them brothers, the Red Clansman will happily honor that.

Weakly, he feeds himself an item from the plate, chewing politely. ]

Other reasons?

Ah... Well, it'd be weird if it was just on looks, yeah?

[ Though Izumo was the only one that has called his lookalike a twin to someone else. They'd never say it around each other. ]

Would it?

[ Stranger things have happened, and with lesser cause. ]

I say if the two of you call yourselves brothers, then welcome to the family.

[ He extends a hand. ] I'm Tatara Totsuka. Or, Minerva, if you prefer.

[ And he hates to do this to you -- especially on a first meeting -- but he's going to need some help... ]

Definitely.

[ Then again, it's hard to explain the way that he and Izumo could communicate without saying anything. Entire conversations and decisions, even.

While Shizuo goes to accept the hand, he sort of freezes before closing it around. It couldn't be helped, and after a moment, he relaxed and just let the hand fall again- that was the closest he'd probably get to a handshake. It couldn't be risked. Of course as it falls, as he adjusts himself the shinki mark on his slung arm's hand became all the more noticeable. ]

Shizuo Heiwajima. Ah... What do you mean by welcome to the family, though?

[ Admittedly, Tatara gives a curious look to the sudden decline of a handshake. He wants to question, of course; but does it really matter? Not hardly. If this man doesn't want to shake his hand, he's not going to let it bother him.

That's quite a feat, actually: Bothering Totsuka. Only one man has managed to do it thus far, and only for the briefest of moments before their conversation continued on, unimpeded and unaltered. ]

Well, you see, Kusanagi-san and I are also very much like brothers, you could say.

[ No, Tatara. He's basically your mom. Don't lie. ]

I'd say you're kinda full of shit, given that Izumo's more like people's mom than anything else.

[ Which is probably a sign for why Shizuo was fine with considering himself the guy's brother. He had no fear in saying this aloud, and has in fact talked to Izumo about his mom tone/look thing, and how it could probably work on most people. ]

Not fully, just kinda. Then again, I guess it's cuz you're younger, from what I can tell.

[ Tatara laughs -- a breathy sound, rather than a robust one, on account of his overarching exhaustion. ]

Aah, you do know him well, don't you? Kusanagi-san really is the 'mothering' type.

[ The kind who thrust umbrellas and jackets on Tatara when he dared to go out into storms. ]

I'm younger, yes; but not by many years. We still went to school together, he and I.

[ ...Kind of. ]

... Ah, I don't think I should know much if you were that much a part of his living life.

[ It's not a lack of interest- with the assumed connection Shizuo and Izumo already set between them, it'd be too easy to wonder where he fit in during all of this. Questions that shouldn't happen- couldn't, really. ]

I really don't want to start wondering too much, y'know?

[ Tatara blinks for a moment. ]

If it's him you're worried about, he remembers me.

[ A beat. ]

But, you're right -- in this case, it's better to be safe than sorry.

[ And one more... ]

Speaking of, I have a favor to ask of you.

[ Well, that settles that much, but it wasn't going to help Shizuo wondering about his place. Yet he knew he couldn't wonder where or even if there was a place he was in back then. ]

Yeah? What sort of favor is that supposed to be?

[ Because he certainly doesn't know you enough to know what to expect. ]

[ There’ a bit of a pause before Tatara answers that question, eyes closing at the behest of a sheepish expression. ]

Well, you see... I don’t think I can make it home on my own two feet, in the state I’m in.

[ Translation: He’s asking for a piggyback ride. Waif and lithe as he is, he doesn't weigh much, he promises! ]

[ Oh. Huh. Most people didn't expect him to be able to do that most of the time. Because Shizuo was far more lithe than his lookalike, unless they already knew about his strength, he wasn't exactly their first choice. ]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. Eat what you've got and then I'll get ya home.

[ Be able to do what? Carry him? Tatara’s not making any presumptions about Shizuo’s strength; not nearly. Rather, he’s banking on his own lightness -- the fact that he’s been thrown over shoulders and hauled away with relative ease for most of his adult life, able to be scooped up in one arm by Mikoto.

(Honestly, if he had any knowledge of this man’s strength, he might ask for a Princess Carry instead of a piggyback, as that’s far more comfortable. Be grateful for this ignorance, Shizuo.)

Anyway, with a nod, he gradually eats away all his various nibbles. Hopefully it’ll last him a while, since he’s not so confident about his ability to get out of bed tomorrow after all of this. He’s betting everything that hasn’t already caught up with him will make its arrival by then, and he’s not going to ask anyone to wait on him hand-and-foot. He’d sooner manage by himself.

Jeez. Rolling an eight with Sakon really was a double-edged sword, wasn’t it? He almost needs a hand getting back to his feet, even; but once he does, he’s all smiles again. ]

Ready when you are!

[ This’ll be interesting. ]

[ Funny enough, as the guy started to eat, Shizuo pulled out and lit a cigarette. While he didn't need to smoke, watching it drift through the air was... relaxing. Enough to be worth maneuvering around the fact that one of his arms was bound in a sling.

When Totsuka said he was ready, the blond tossed the cigarette into a stainless steel personal ash tray- one of those cylindrical cases that had a slide to manage the top. ]

Right. Then let's get you back.

[ He goes to kneel down with his back to the younger man. It won't be the most convenient, but Shizuo knew he could just hook his remaining arm back to support the god. Goddess. Whatever. ]

II.a

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