thenearshore | 008 | Sakura 2.0: You Can (Not) Have A Picnic

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008 | Sakura 2.0: You Can (Not) Have A Picnic

Who: Everyone!
What: Sakura picnic
When: Evening April 25
Where: The same sakura park as last time
Summary: Amaterasu has had a request to return to view the cherry blossoms one more time and she has decided to make it happen.

The cherry blossoms have yet to all fall from the trees, and so the Heavens have seen fit to hold another blossom viewing - this time with a picnic instead! The trees themselves do not have the ethereal glow they had last time, but there is a sweet scent that fills the air, drawing anyone inexorably towards the beautiful trees.

As a surprise, Amaterasu has sent her counselors to join the picnic as well. They can be found wandering around and enjoying the sights and foods just the same as anyone else.

All new arrivals will have been whisked away to the picnic by Amaterasu's shinki so that they can enjoy this escape just the same as everyone else. It seems Amaterasu doesn't want to leave anyone out this time, and so many of her shinki are milling around as well, clad in white with the golden chrysanthemum embroidered on their outfits.

Picnic

Dozens upon dozens of brightly colored picnic blankets have been provided for the guests to use. On top of that, pre-packed picnic boxes have been provided as well. They range from American-esque picnic baskets all the way to Japanese style bentos. Everyone is free to take as many boxes as they would like to and share among each other. Every picnic box has something different for everyone to enjoy.

Cherry Blossoms

The blossoms are falling freely now, showing that they are on their last leg of life. But the scent of the cherry blossoms has become so intense that it draws anyone who smells it towards the trees. You might find that if you breathe in too deeply or too long, it's like an intoxication equivalent to having drunk all night long. Good luck keeping up straight!

Performance

A performance stage has been erected in the park by the Heavens and there are a number of shinki who will sing and dance or perform in other ways whenever they have a spare moment. Gods and their shinki are encouraged to get up on the stage and perform as well, if they have anything that they would like to perform for their fellows.

Fire

Around sunset, the festivities will come to a screeching halt as a sudden burst of flames spreads through the trees, igniting them one by one. The spread of the fire is so rapid that it is very obviously unnatural. It will take a lot of teamwork and a large number of hands to put the fire out - or maybe you prefer to just run away. Either way, it will be hard to miss the pieces of paper that fly through the air, all bearing the same words: Down with the Heavens! Down with Amaterasu!

In Summary:

Enjoy the cherry blossoms
Enjoy the picnic food
Meet Amaterasu's counselors
View or participate in the performance
Put out the fire
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It wouldn't be in character for him to show up to a party without at least one bottle of something cheap and strong, but after two hours Gojyo's only downed enough to keep his throat wet. The idea is to look like he's playing along -- oh, it's just Gojyo, just that drunk god Dionysus, pay him no mind -- without getting stupid in the process. If Amaterasu wants everyone at this party, then she's got big plans, and he wants to have a clear head when those plans inevitably blow up in all their faces.

Still, even for the little he's drunk, he's feeling awfully loose and happy by the time he makes his way back to the blanket where he spotted Hakkai earlier. He doesn't have the time to wonder about that, though, because Hakkai's not there... and, worse, there are claw marks in the tree that send a chill down Gojyo's back. ]

Hakkai?

[ Head swimming-- shit, he's really drunk, when did that happen? -- he scans the surrounding picniccers. Nobody seems to be in a panic (or bleeding out, which, hey, bonus), but something happened. Something's not right here. ]

Hakkai!

[ If asked, he couldn't say why he headed off in the direction he chose. It just felt right. ]

Hakkai, where are you?

[Was that his name? The voice cutting through the hubbub of the crowd brings Hakkai up short, and he half-stumbles again. Whatever this is, it's had a shocking effect. It's as if he's drunk half of Gojyo's cellar.

His eyesight is even a little blurred, and his thoughts won't follow properly.

Yes -- collect Gojyo and get out of here.

That's what he ought to do. That was Gojyo's voice a moment ago, wasn't it, he thinks, and blinks, trying again to shake off the dizziness.]

... Gojyo?

[There! It's a good thing Gojyo's tall, and his hair color is so vivid; he's easy to pick out in a crowd. Hakkai starts hurriedly toward him.]

[ Hakkai's vines-and-ears make him easy to spot in a crowd as well. The merry-makers around them seem a little too loud, a little too friendly, and Gojyo has no problem pushing through the crowd to Hakkai's side. The whole festival is drunk, it seems, and dimly Gojyo's aware that he should be worried about that. But he's only able to concentrate on a few things at a time at the moment, and as soon as Hakkai comes into view all of those things are Hakkai-related.

God he's pretty.

Gojyo reaches out, pulling Hakkai to him in a great warm embrace. He's not hurt. He's not disappeared. He sighs with relief. ]

I was worried.

[His reaction speed is absolutely terrible, Hakkai thinks, as Gojyo's arms go unexpectedly around him and he somehow, in the simultaneous attempt to tense up and keep his balance, loses his footing entirely and half-falls against Gojyo in return.

He's not at all used to leaning on anyone, he suspects. There's no doubt he's not used to anyone being this close. He's all elbows and awkward tension, but Gojyo's very warm, and the tension seems to be ebbing away all on its own. He might be melting like a carcass into stock, he thinks, and barely stops himself from laughing at the image. That's probably one of those mental images that no one really wants to hear him describe aloud, isn't it? Yes. It seems like one.]

There's something in the... [Gojyo's flushed. And his skin is very warm against Hakkai's: but he doesn't smell of alcohol, Hakkai thinks, the way he would if he were drunk. He sniffs. No -- all he can smell is the dizzying scent of the cherry blossoms.

Dizzying. There's something about that....]

... The.

[Ah. He lost track. He frowns, pulling the sentences together with meticulous care.]

I think there was something in the tea. Have you been drinking?

[ He can't smell the cherry blossoms. All he can smell is Hakkai -- Hakkai's skin, Hakkai's hair, the soap he used on his clothes, the faint hint of tea on his breath. All slightly of from what he feels like it should be, but all still very much familiar. ]

Drinking? [ He's drunk, he thinks, leaning into Hakkai. They fit so well together, don't they? Almost the same height, almost the same build. Like they were meant to be together like this. ] Yeah, sorry, I'm kinda...

[ But his laugh trails off, and he stiffens against Hakkai. Is he drunk?

He pulls away, hands still on Hakkai's shoulders (don't leave, don't get lost). He smacks his lips -- no alcohol there. He turns his face to the side, taking a quick sniff of his shirt -- no alcohol there either. He's very drunk, but he's... not drunk? ]

I didn't have any tea.

You didn't? [Oh. It's a little disappointing, having Gojyo pull away; and not just because he has to catch his balance again. He does, though, and meets Gojyo's eyes, watching the worry spread over his face. He didn't have tea. He wasn't drinking, but he feels drunk. Like Hakkai, he supposes, and lifts one hand to rub a careful knuckle over his own temple. Thinking is distressingly difficult just now. He's starting to feel as though, perhaps, curling up under one of the trees and sleeping it off would be better.

No, that would be ... bad. They're at Amaterasu's party and it's not safe to be drunk here in the least, Hakkai thinks, letting his hand fall from his temple to curl possessively over Gojyo's on his shoulder. Whatever's been done has to have been deliberate. Not tea. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything but tea. Think, he tells himself, a spark of annoyance temporarily clearing the dizzy fog.]

Anything else?

[ He's drunk, but he's not drunk. He's drunk, but he didn't drink anything. Everyone's drunk, but it's a party, but everyone is drunk, and isn't that strange? Everyone usually doesn't get drunk. There's people here who don't get drunk. He gaze drifts over the crowd, a frown creasing his brow as he waits for things to make sense. Everyone shouldn't be drunk. Like kids. And that ninja asshole. And Hakkai.

Hakkai's drunk.

His attention snaps back to Hakkai, and he sucks in a deep breath. Hakkai is drunk. ]

You're drunk.

[ Hakkai is never drunk.

His grip on Hakkai's shoulders tightens as he leans in, lowering his voice. ]

This is wrong. [ With that realization, the crowd around him suddenly feels too loud, too pressing. A whole field of drunken fools, and them right in the middle of it -- it's a trap. They have to... they have to find... A jolt of panic rushes through him. Who do they have to find? ] Stay with me.

Yes, it's a bit of a concern.

[It really is!

Hakkai's hand tightens on Gojyo's wrist in response to the panic on his face, like a belated mirror of the same panic that'd hit Hakkai when he'd realized himself that there was something affecting him. "Something in the water," they said sometimes. "Something in the air."

Hakkai looks up at the fading cherry blossoms sifting down over them.]

Do you suppose it's something in the air?

[There. It helps, he thinks, to be standing very still; he can stop worrying about challenging things like balance, coordination and not falling over on Gojyo again, and focus on other challenging things, like analyzing the fact that the scent of cherry blossoms is everywhere, overwhelming to his senses. That's not normal at all. They're fading, they're falling, and they are intoxicating.]

[ Hakkai is drunk. His mind keeps circling back to that very upsetting statement, interrupting himself over and over again. Hakkai is drunk. They're at a festival, and Hakkai is drunk. There's a lot of new people here, and Hakkai is drunk. He really wants to touch that vine curling across Hakkai's nose, and Hakkai is drunk. Hakkai will break his arm if he tries, because he is drunk, and so is Hakkai.

Which isn't right. Hakkai doesn't get drunk. Which means... which means... something in the air, Hakkai says, and yes, that's it! They aren't drunk. ]

Gas.

[ He's been gassed before, Yaone gassed him. It didn't smell much, and then the world spun around and he woke up on the floor with a headache. He can't smell anything now either, except for the damn trees. He peers up at the trees suspiciously, but he's sat under them (and in them, a few times) and never gotten drunk-dumb like this before. Probably not the trees, then. It's got to be something else. ]

Or incense? [ But the only thing burning is the grill for the meat skewers. Still, it's worth checking out. But he doesn't get more than a step in that direction before his knees buckle and he falls hard against Hakkai. ]

[Gas. Incense. Perfume, masked as the flower-scent, but too strong for the flowers as they are now? Distracted by theories, Hakkai lets his grip on Gojyo's wrist slacken as he starts to move, and is utterly unprepared when Gojyo lurches and his full weight hits Hakkai right in the chest. He stumbles back, arms coming up reflexively to wrap around Gojyo, catch him and prevent him from slumping to the ground --

Except that his own clumsy feet catch on a tree root and, instead of keeping Gojyo up, he finds himself suddenly weightless, clinging to (dragging down? Which way exactly is up?) Gojyo's waist.

A second later, the ground comes up to hit him hard in the back.

He squeezes his eyes shut. Somehow, his voice manages to come out perfectly unslurred regardless.]

Ah, I think we've been successfully ambushed.

[ And then he's on the ground -- or, more specifically, on Hakkai, half-draped over him, chest to chest, legs tangled together.

And in case that wasn't bad enough, his traitorous body has definite opinions about being pressed this closely against Hakkai. ] Shit, sorry, sorry... [ --he mumbles, rolling off Hakkai (hopefully) before the other man can notice the erection jabbing him in the hip. ]

This party sucks.

[If it were Sanzo, that would've been a gun in his pocket. Gojyo, on the other hand, well. Hakkai notices. On the other hand, they're both drunk, or at least gassed into a good imitation of it, and when tangled in a drunken heap on the ground it is absolutely normal not to be able to control certain responses.

Completely normal, and he's not going to make an issue of it at all: he's just grateful that having taken the brunt of the fall and most of Gojyo's weight, his own absolutely normal reaction was delayed until Gojyo'd already rolled free. He cracks his left eye open, not bothering with the right, and props himself up on one elbow.]

It must be the perfume.

[Abruptly, memory waves a hand at him, and his eyes both open: he casts a worried glance at Gojyo. He'd had his ribs badly broken not long ago at all and he's just fallen over. Hakkai had cushioned the fall a little--]

I hope all your bones are still in one piece?

[ Whose perfume? Gojyo wants to ask, because he certainly doesn't remember any women walking by wearing scent, and if they'd been there he's pretty sure -- promises to Hakkai or no -- that he would have remembered them. But then Hakkai starts talking about his boner and Gojyo can't do anything but blush the brightest red he's ever blushed and wish desperately that he weren't so drunk he can't stand up. ]

Oi, I didn't fall that hard, [ --he grumbles; placing his hands flat on the ground on either side of his hips, Gojyo is able to make the world stop spinning long enough to sit upright. A position that, by total coincidence, allows him to better conceal the boner in question. ]

I'm tryin' not to, okay?

["I didn't fall that hard" is reassuring, but at the followup comment Hakkai finds himself lost again. He shoves himself back up to a sitting position and wavers as the world does a slow roll.]

... What?

[He leans forward, crossing his arms on his knees, and adds, a little petulantly:]

I'm not sure why you do this for fun.

[If he can't convince his thoughts to all line back up properly and his reflexes to respond he's going to ... well, he's going to be very annoyed.]

...What?

[ They're not still talking about his boner, right? They can't still be talking about his boner. ]

Why I do what?

[Were they ever? Hakkai didn't notice. He thought he was trying not to talk about it.

He glances at Gojyo over his arm, blinking a bit to try to clear the fuzziness from his vision. It's less than effective.]

Get drunk.

[ Sitting is so much better than standing (or lying flat, for that matter -- the way the world tends to spin when he's drunk and prone has never been a selling point of getting drunk. ]

This isn't drunk. [ It's gassed, but he gets what Hakkai means. ] This's too drunk. This's... [ He gestures at Hakkai, and himself, and the ground, in a way that initially made sense in his head. ] ...fallin' over drunk. [ And, if he's being honest... ] It's pukin' drunk. It's not th'fun kind.

[ Thankfully they don't have a sloshing bellyful, so the sick part won't come into play. Hopefully. But hey, if it happens, it happens. He's been here many times before.

Oh, but Hakkai hasn't, has he? This is all new to him. Gojyo straights up a bit, turning so he's sitting next to Hakkai instead of half-facing him, and he leans over to bump his shoulder against the other man's. ]

When you're this drunk, you've just got t'ride it out.

[Hakkai's initial panic, at least, is fading in favor of a sort of generalized annoyance. It's probably because he can't keep his priorities clearly in mind, he thinks. They're still in potential danger if whatever it is in the trees' perfume is meant to distract them for an attack. They're still... well.

No one seems to be attacking. Hakkai leans sideways, a little, not so much putting his weight on Gojyo as just keeping their shoulders pressed comfortably together. It's strangely comforting: strangely, because leaning against someone would usually be uncomfortable, but he likes the tangible reminder that Gojyo is there.]

Mm. If anything happened. Could you teleport?

[Gojyo's as much falling-down-drunk on whatever's in the air as he is, and neither of them could fight in this shape. Well, Hakkai might be able to kill someone if they weren't paying attention, he supposes, but still -- still. If Gojyo can get them out if there is a sudden danger, then, Hakkai thinks, he can let go of the last of his worry and wait it out after all.]

[ He'd been worried Hakkai was going to ask that. Could he teleport? Yeah. It's always there at the back of his... his mind? Sort of? Only it's also sort of a feeling at the base of his skull, like, if his lifts just so then he can be where he wants to be. Sort of like how shakujyo was always just there in his palm.

He holds his left hand with his right, thumb working over the palm. Shakujyo's gone, but Hakkai's shakujyo now. That's... that's not something he wants to think about right now, and anyway Hakkai's waiting for an answer.

What were they...? Oh, right. Teleporting. ]

If I had to? [ He tries to sound casual, but his hesitance is pretty clear. ] Kinda worried about where we'd end up, but... [ If Hakkai's freaking out about being intoxicated in public, then Gojyo will risk putting them into a wall or a couple miles out to sea. If he has to.] D'you need to get out of here?

No. [Hakkai settles more comfortably against Gojyo's shoulder, relieved at the confirmation. As long as they can end up elsewhere, then they aren't trapped. Even if they've been drugged to make them helpless, they're not trapped.

That means it's all right, doesn't it?]

If we have to we can. [Good. That's good. He lifts one hand from his knees to rub a knuckle above his eyebrow. They're not moving anymore, and the world seems to have given up spinning in favor of settling fuzzily into place, but he's starting to get a headache anyway.]

[ Hakkai settles back, and Gojyo melts into him in relief. Right now he'd be hard pressed to get up to piss, much less handle the complicated envisioning-concentrating-activating process involved in teleportation. ]

So hey, did... [ --he begins, but trails off when he notices Hakkai rubbing his head. Without any hesitation (not like acting without thinking is new to him or anything) Gojyo puts his hands on Hakkai's shoulders, encouraging him to turn to the side.

Here, lemme get that.

Hmm? Oh -- I'm all right.

[...is what he says, but he shifts obligingly under Gojyo's hands, turning his back to his god.

It's still a little strange to think of Gojyo that way. My god feels like it should mean Elsa, but it is Gojyo now: and that's all right, too, he thinks. If someone has to have that power, it's best if it's him.]

[ If Hakkai is showing how tired or stressed or hurt he is, then he has to be super tired or hurt or stressed. It's not just a useful excuse to touch his best friend or anything.

Cool hands are the best for soothing headaches, and Gojyo's are far from cool. But hopefully it'll still help -- he slides two fingertip through Hakkai's hair on either side to his temples, pressing firmly as he rubs in small circles first in one direction, then the other. ]

How's this?

[ If this were a proper drunk he'd think Hakkai needed water, or something salty. Maybe a big bowl of Everything Ramen with egg and onion and leftover broccoli beef and damn, he's getting hungry. But it won't kill him to be hungry for a bit (and getting up to find food very well might).

Fingers still on Hakkai's temples, he works his thumbs into the back of the man's neck, digging at those tight tendons on either side of the base of his skull. ]

This okay?

[Gojyo's fingers are warm and sure. Hakkai starts as they slide through his hair, and then relaxes, slowly, as his hands settle in place where Hakkai'd just been absently rubbing his own head. He's dizzy, tense, confused and annoyed at himself for not noticing his impairment until it was too late to stop it from being this incapacitating. And his head does ache, although, really, it's no more than a mild annoyance as pain goes -- but despite all that, the touch is still very nice.

Very nice and completely distracting. He vaguely considers pulling away (they're not in a safe place and he shouldn't be distracted) and lets his head fall forward instead, closing his eyes and making a vague sound of assent to Gojyo's question. He's already been drugged by the flowers, or whatever kind of spell is on them, and he can't quite line up enough arguments to convince him that it's a bad enough idea.

Not, at least, until his awareness of Gojyo's hands in his hair, cradling his head, flashes over into embarrassing sensuality. Goosebumps prickle the fine hairs across the back of his neck, half-hidden in the longer hair that he hasn't gotten around to having trimmed back to his usual style, but unmissably right under Gojyo's thumbs, and Hakkai freezes in place. They're in the middle of a crowd: this is not the time for the pleasant shiver working its way down his spine or the abrupt twitch of interest lower down as, suddenly, the scent of Gojyo's skin seems far more intriguing than the overpowering odor of the flowers.

Very carefully, he leans away. Not at all the time or place. Decidedly not. He has to swallow before he can trust his voice, and even then, it sounds a little low, the tone less cautiously restrained than the words.]

Thank you. That's better.

[ This close, there's really no way to miss the signs. The hairs rising on the back of his neck, the way he -- heh -- stiffens. That tone of voice that Gojyo's never before heard.

It takes a lot of willpower to let Hakkai lean forward, out of his hands. It takes even more not to lean in, wrap his arms around the man, taste his throat and press his palms to his chest to see if his heart's beating as hard and fast as Gojyo's is. God, he wants to.

His own voice is a dry rasp when he replies. ]

I could get that too. [ He's only touching Hakkai with one hand -- one hand, flat and warm, right in the center of his back. One hand, that could easily slide down, and around Hakkai's side. Or up, back in to his hair, turning his face toward Gojyo's. So many options from just one simple touch. ] If you wanted.

008 | Sakura 2.0: You Can (Not) Have A Picnic

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