Semi-Open/Semi-Closed

[killsthebuddha]

Who: Sanzo, Sanzang, Hakkai, Goku, Elsa, and more!
Where: Kanzeon's Temple, Menrva's Temple, and other locations
When: April 20 and on
What: Something of a catchall!
Warnings: Profanity, more sanzos than anyone could ever need. To be updated.

Comments

24th, evening, for Sanzo.

[existentialcrisis]

[ The doors to Mahakala's temple are propped open with rocks, but the invitation doesn't make it look any more welcoming. There are, at least, sounds of life from inside: Ukoku's shuffling around in the kitchen, whistling something.

The monkey skeleton in the front hall has acquired a fuzzy bathrobe and a pair of sunglasses. It has a cigarette wedged between its teeth. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo has no idea what he's doing, but he has a feeling that deliberately seeking out Ukoku is a risky move.

It doesn't stop him.

He has options, but he's not certain which ones he can take. (So why not find himself in the creepiest part of Heaven? That's a great choice.) With the exception of a handful of crows, it's desolate, though the temple doors are open. (Did that even count as a temple?) Determined to not be put off by appearances, he stops at the threshhold and looks inside. Someone's whistling, and it's disorienting in how utterly prosaic it is when contrasted by the fact that there's a monkey skeleton in the front hall. Sanzo does not invite himself in.

It's wearing a bathrobe.

Right. He could still leave. He could write this off as a lost cause and move on. Instead, he calls out: ] Hey, Ukoku.

[existentialcrisis]

[ The whistling stops.

Ukoku appears in the doorway between the hall and the rest of the temple in a black leather jacket, clearly on his way out. ]

Oh! Genjo. I was about to go get some sake. [ He checks his watch. ] Before the place closes. Do you want to come with me? We can talk on the way. [ It's friendly, but brisk. ]

[killsthebuddha]

Works for me. [ Not much of a choice there. He'd already come out of his way, so why not tag along with Ukoku. Sake is sounding like a good idea.

He does have to ask: ] Is the shitty taste all yours or did it come with the place?

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku points at the skeleton inquisitively. Mr. Bananas has done nothing wrong! ]

He was here before me, but I kind of like him.

[ He pats the thing's skull and comes closer, reaching for Sanzo's arm. ]

Anyway—

[ —And then they're in a park, but it's just a split second of trees and green before they're standing at a suburban intersection. Both streets are a mix of houses and shops, none of which look likely to have sake. Ukoku turns in a circle, slowly pulling his phone out of his pocket. ]

Whoops. [ Excuse him while he pokes at his phone. He might be mildly lost. ] Um, what did you need?

[killsthebuddha]

[ Whoops?

He bristles some, shifting a step away from Ukoku. Leveling an unamused look at the man, he pulls out his cigarettes. If nothing else, it's doing wonders for his underlying anxiety by displacing it with aggravation. ]

I wanted to know what you thought would happen if I used the Maten sutra. [ Maten. He remembered now, little fragments from a conversation with Goku. The kid wasn't one for details and it was hazy, but he remembered. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ He pauses in checking a map to shoot Sanzo a measuring look, starts across the street, and looks back down at his phone. ]

It depends on what it's used for. In general, it banishes. Or purifies. Did you always know what it was called?

[killsthebuddha]

It'll also pin down a monkey throwing a tantrum. [ Taking a heavy drag off his cigarette, he exhales the smoke slowly as he matches Ukoku's pace. ]

I didn't know. I wasn't even sure what it could do.

[existentialcrisis]

[ He slides his phone back in his pocket, giving Sanzo his full attention. ]

How did you remember?

[killsthebuddha]

I don't know how, but it started coming back yesterday. Not everything, just these fragments about Goku.

[ His lips press together. ] It's like remembering a dream.

[existentialcrisis]

No catalyst? I wonder if it has to do with the sutra, then. It's possible that the loss of memory shinki experience is the result of something the Maten sutra can dispel. Of course, that brings up the question of why it would only dispel it in pieces.

[ He checks his phone again and looks up, down the street, comparing landmarks: there's a junior high school coming up. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ The closest thing to a catalyst had been one of Sanzang's wild temple monkeys trying to steal his breakfast, somehow the incident managed to jar loose a memory of Goku and that damn stray dog that would romp around with him. If it'd just been that, he might have been able to write it off as his imagination getting the better of him. ]

That's what I want to know. It looks too close to be coincidence, but... [ He hesitates, frowning. ] Do you know where the hell you're going, or not?

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku stares at him for a few seconds, a wounded expression on his face. That's not very cute. ]

[ He looks back down at his phone. ] I was only six blocks off! [ A beat. ] Seven. Have you tried it since?

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo isn't cute: a saga. His expression remains unchanged by that kind of expression on the face of a grown man. ]

I haven't had a chance to yet. [ And it had struck him as a wise idea to check and see if there was a glaring reason that he shouldn't. He's made enough reckless decisions lately, more than he would rather out of necessity. ]

[existentialcrisis]

Well, I don't think there's any harm. The only issue might be—

[ He stops, staring.

They're far enough along now to see the corner of the field next to the school; by the sound of it, a baseball game is in progress. A skinny outfielder shuffles around by the fence, bored, waiting, and oblivious to the massive ayakashi down the field. It's a bruise-purple mantis-thing with legs like trees, towering, and its back is covered in eyes that shiver and bounce as if attached by strings. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo narrows his eyes as he takes in the gigantic ayakashi. His first thought is to call up one of the cockroach twins- but they're both currently recovering from being squashed. ]

Son of a bitch. [ He glances sideways at Ukoku. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku's already tapping at a contacts list (with exactly one contact in it). ]

I've never seen one like that. [ He pauses, glancing back at the screen. ] Down here, anyway.—My shinki's not answering. He doesn't like to think of himself as a weapon, so I don't call him to kill these things. We have kind of an agreement. This might turn into a hell of a game.

[killsthebuddha]

I've got no one that I can call on here.

[ There's only one conclusion there. It feels wrong, uncomfortable in ways that his other battle-driven namings hadn't. He was willing to put aside a lot, but...

He's too pragmatic to listen to his own misgivings, especially when the massive insect starts to turn its attention on them. ] Shit. [ It had to be said. ] I'm not afraid of being a weapon.

[existentialcrisis]

[ And Ukoku doesn't ask if he's sure, or say it's up to you; there's no outward show of sympathy or humility or gratitude or anything—he just gives Sanzo a neutral look while the ayakashi lurches toward them. The boys it towers over fidget with sudden discontent; one of them shouts something angry and disparaging down the field at another player, but there's no sign of what lured it to the field.

Ukoku draws a simple character in the air between himself and Sanzo—叩—a good one for smashing bugs. ]

Then I'll call you Kouki.

[killsthebuddha]

[ He should be grateful that Ukoku doesn't drag it out, at least, but it's displaced by a vague, formless anxiety that he has to force down. This is the worst part, abandoning his control to another person.

Worse, to know he'd be in the hands of someone he can't read, under control of that looming nothing.

But then he's on his feet. Sort of. He stumbles slightly, baffled as he puts it all together. He has to look up, craning his neck to look up at Ukoku. Holy shit, he's a fucking fox.

The threat of the hideous ayakashi is looming, but he needs a second here. He'd better have a hell of a power backing him up, or this is still very real trouble. ]

[existentialcrisis]

[ While the ayakashi closes in on their corner of the field, Ukoku is still and calm and sort of delighted, watching Sanzo-fox figure himself out. ]

Oops! You turned out cute! [ He smiles at the ayakashi, not that Sanzo can necessarily see him from his newly awful vantage point. ] The last time I killed one of these I just hit it. Maybe I'm supposed to throw you. Or maybe if you give it kisses it'll die!

[ He's joking, but also he's reaching for Sanzo. Give it kisses. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo is anything but okay with this. He lacks the ability to emote quite so clearly as he would have as a human, but his wide eyes reflect certain indignant alarm. ]

Don't you fucking start- [ He hasn't even figured out how he's supposed to be able to fight, dammit. ]

[existentialcrisis]

I don't want to start, but the place I was going to get that sake from closes in— [ he pauses to take his phone back out of his pocket, even as the massive leg of the mantis-thing comes down like a spike next to him. He's still looking at the screen as he darts a few feet away in a blink. ] —Five minutes! How about if I give you one minute to figure this out?