/man in black lyrics

[erogappa]

Who: Gojyo and anyone who wants to stop by!
What: Hanging out, having adventures, engaging in healthy coping habits
When: Any time of any day from May 12-15ish
Where: chez Dinosaur
Warnings: Homo-antagonistic language in the Niles thread.



He's never going to sleep again. Which is fine -- he knows from experience that he can go weeks on end with only a few hours of sleep snatched here and there between youkai attacks. It won't kill him. He doesn't even feel all that tired, not really. He more feels like he's asleep and dreaming than anything else -- everything is at a bit of a distance and his reactions are slowed, like the air's gone thicker or something. Like he's a little drunk, even though he hasn't touched a drop since his return. It's weird and unsettling, but he's sure it'll wear off. And even if it doesn't, it's not something to bother anybody with. He's been enough of a bother already.

So during the day, he sticks close to Hakkai -- he's worried the other man enough already by vanishing, so it's the least he can do to stay near (and if that means running errands or sitting quietly in the back of the classroom while school is in session, he supposes that he can manage). And at night, when he wakes after only an hour or two of sleep, he tracks down Asshole and drags the half-man out to the porch with him, for company while he smokes pack after pack and watches the moon.

Comments

May 13th?

[bussounoshima]

Eventually, Sharak decides she's probably not going to run into Gojyo randomly around the Far Shore and that she should probably just go and visit his temple. There are things they should discuss and she wants to check in on him- honestly, she thinks it's a little weird she hasn't heard anything about him so far. The sun's down when she decides to stop by, casually strolling onto the temple grounds.

"Oi. You."

[erogappa]

The sun's down, so that means Gojyo's on the front porch slowly building a small mountain of cigarette butts, a white-haired youkai man sitting silently beside him. He doesn't get up when she approaches, but his whole posture shifts as soon as she comes into view. Sanzo had warned them awhile back that there were other sanzos here -- is this the person he'd been talking about?

"Oi yourself." With a glance and a nod, he sends the youkai man back into the temple. If things are about to get combative, he wants Asshole free to go get Hakkai. "You're not another Genjo, are you?"

[bussounoshima]

Sharak watches the youkai go before stepping up onto the porch herself. For what it's worth, she doesn't look like she's in a particularly combative mood- or at least, no more so than she does by default.

"You got me. There are five Sanzo priests and we're all Genjo." Though the dry tone probably doesn't help to convince him otherwise. Sharak hesitates though. She was sure Genjo had said Gojyo was a god like her.

"... You're the "god" of this temple?"

May 13th

[herbalsupplements]

Having judged Hakkai more than capable of handling things and the both of them likely in need of some privacy, Kurama waits until late Friday morning to come back and see how Gojyo's doing. In his arms he carries a massive basket of fruits and vegetables (including some cucumbers, partially because they're delicious and partially to be an asshole about kappas), a covered dish bearing enough miso soup to drown someone, and a second smaller covered dish full of candied flowers.

He'll even knock politely to let everyone know he's here instead of waltzing in.

[erogappa]

The door is answered (and the gift baskets gravely accepted, if Kurama will surrender them) by a silent Asshole. Recognizing Kurama as a welcome visitor, Asshole shows Kurama through the building to the library, where Hakkai is teaching a small group of students. Gojyo reclines on a couch by the door, reading a slim paperback novel.

Asshole goes ahead of Kurama, to tap Gojyo on the shoulder so as not to disrupt the lesson. Gojyo's head jerks up -- he'd fallen asleep -- and when he turns to Kurama his expression is clearly written with first confusion, and then an embarrassed sort of acceptance. Dropping his book, he comes to greet Kurama out in the hall.

"Hey." Well shit. This is really embarrassing. "I hear I owe you one, you and your new shinki."

[herbalsupplements]

It's somewhat less embarrassing for Kurama, but then he's not the one who was hallucinating and desperate the other day, so it's easy to shrug off Gojyo's talk of debts.

"Kuwabara has a knack for finding things. I wasn't going to let that resource go untapped when my entire Remedial Tracking Class had gone missing." It's more roundabout than a simple that's what friends are for, but saying that outright just seems like it would make things even more embarrassing right now. "It's good to see you rested enough to recognize me again."

May 15

[cyberfly]

​It's been a couple weeks but the order finally arrived today. Nagi went to his Near Shore pick-up point and is bringing it back now. Some people might find it weird that a girl would want such a thing, but not Nagi.

He's carrying it in his hand now, since he took it out of the packaging earlier to make sure everything is in working order. Unlike a gun or crossbow, this one is a custom order, so he has to check on the mechanics. Outwardly, it just looks like a yellow parasol. It even has frills on the outer edge and a baby blue handle.

He passes by the temple of Dionysus and pauses. Gojyo sits there smoking and looking somewhat deflated. Nagi doesn't read expressions very well, but he can tell that something is off.

He stands there for a moment before he finally says: "Are you okay?"

[erogappa]

"Hmm?" Gojyo's a million miles away, staring a hole through that patch of grass in his front yard. He looks up at Nagi's voice, blinking at the bright sun... and blinking again at the girly umbrella he's carrying. Even if it looked like rain -- which it doesn't, there isn't a cloud in the sky, it's a beautiful May day -- that umbrella is really goddamn girly.

It's a welcome distraction. "The hell is that?"

[cyberfly]

​He doesn't really look okay. He doesn't answer his question either. Nagi isn't going to press him any further.

He glances at the thing Gojyo points to.

"It's a parasol," he says flatly, as though it's perfectly usual for people to not-know what parasols are. He doesn't mention the retractable blade.

May 12, Evening

[killsthebuddha]

The less said about any of this, the better.

Gojyo's alive, and that gives them a path forward. But damn if Sanzo knows the direction yet, not right now. He's still reeling from the blow of somehow managing to push through to more suppressed memories under Ukoku's bullshit tutelage.

He knows Gojyo now, every obnoxious habit and irritating quality for all that their shared history is contentious and sometimes hard to reflect on. Slowly, he's getting closer to figuring it all out. It only makes it all the more critical to break through and finally put together the remaining fragments of his scattered memories.

It's an adequate excuse to avoid everyone.

Late that evening, Sanzo is still wide awake and currently settled outside, sitting full lotus as he focuses on the sutra wrapped around his shoulders. He's chanting a mantra, his voice carrying despite the low volume, when he registers Gojyo's presence. Headed out to smoke, or...?

It's enough to break his concentration, the faintest flutter of his sutra stilling completely. He goes quiet with a sigh.

[erogappa]

The nightmare knots his breath in the back of his throat, and Gojyo wakes with a tremor and a gasp. The room is dark and the air still, silent except for Hakkai's quiet breaths. He's probably faking being asleep, Gojyo thinks, and rests his hand lightly on Hakkai's shoulder for a moment before rising. He's just going out to the porch to smoke, and he's taking Asshole with him. He'll be back as soon as he thinks he can sleep again. No need to worry.

Even before he reaches the porch he can tell that Sanzo's outside. He can hear the mantra all the way inside the temple, but hear isn't really the right word -- he doesn't just hear it with his ears. But it's too complicated a thing to worry about even when he's not half-asleep -- it's just Sanzo, and that's all he needs to know.

He doesn't mean to interrupt -- his plan is to seat himself across the courtyard away from Sanzo and let him keep on doing his thing. But Sanzo's chanting stops almost as soon as Gojyo is aware of it, and it's like the air itself changes. Thickens, maybe. It was so clear a moment before, but now it's... muggy, somehow. With a nod, he sends Asshole back off to bed (or whatever it is that Asshole does at night when the rest of the house is asleep), and heads out into the courtyard to see what's up with the monk.

He picks a seat just out of arm's reach, lights himself a cigarette, and tosses Sanzo the lighter, all without saying a word.

[killsthebuddha]

Snatching the lighter out of the air, he's just as content to stay quiet while he gets out his cigarettes. It's only after he's gone through the comforting routine of lighting up that, after a brief moment of thought, he tosses it back. He hates these in-between times where recovery is all they can hope for, and progress is set back again and again.

In a way, this whole bullshit misadventure has been one. Lost and wounded variously, but they won't be able to guess when they'll be able to get back on the road.

Not yet ready to break the silence, he watches Gojyo. It's strange to see him, and to know him. He'd put pieces together before, but now the whole picture is right there.

May 14th

[solar_avatar]

It was a couple of days ago that Hakkai had sent the text out to everyone about how his friend had been found. Given how rough a time it must have been, Trance allowed a couple of days for everyone to be among friends and familiar faces. More out of respect and not wanting to intrude than anything else. However, while Trance genuinely wanted to make sure his friend was okay, she was also very curious.

So after a bit of luck and diligence, it's barely evening when the golden-skinned woman reaches the temple entrance with a potted plant in her arms. She could probably admire the marble and other work if given the chance, if only because everything was still new enough to her, even after a week of being in the Far Shore. Instead of being distracted by that, Trance poked a little in, seeing the redhead and white-haired person on the porch. Well, given the description, she could easily guess who the smoker was. To avoid alarming him, however, she gently called out from the entrance to the temple grounds. "Hello? Um, Mr Gojyo, right?"

[erogappa]

With all the time he's been spending with Asshole, it's only made sense to try and get the man to communicate. Gojyo knows that he can't talk to Asshole about their shared past -- and honestly, even if he could, he wouldn't. Banri's much easier to tolerate without his memories -- but his own captivity has made him look at his silent shinki in a new light. What if Banri's really in there, just trapped in the back of his body's mind and unable to speak or control himself? It's not a situation Gojyo would wish on his worst enemy.

First he'd started with writing. Maybe if Banri couldn't talk, he could express himself in text? But while Asshole proved he could read, he didn't seem to understand writing -- Gojyo put a pen in his hand and Asshole would just hold it. Sign language had failed in much the same way. Asshole responded very well to gestures for come here and pick that up, but wouldn't repeat the gestures on his own.

Tonight, it's smoking. Banri had never been much of a smoker, but he'd enjoyed the occasional cigarette, especially when he'd been drinking. So Gojyo's given Asshole his very own cigarette -- lit it for him and everything -- and now it's just a question of whether Asshole will figure out how to inhale.

It doesn't look good. Thankfully, the experiment is interrupted by a visitor. A visitor... with a plant. "Yeah," he nods in response, not getting up from his spot at the edge of the porch (his butt's gonna start leaving a dent there if he's not careful). "You looking for Hakkai?"

[solar_avatar]

Well, it's sign enough that she wasn't going to be intruding or surprising anyone. Though maybe the plant was the wrong choice, Trance couldn't seem to go past any other ideas for gifts. Gently shaking her head, the golden woman glanced over at the white-haired person that... Didn't seem to be doing much. Which seemed familiar, like that other shinki of Dokugakuji's.

That wasn't why she had come over, though, so Trance refocused and gave the redhead a smile. "Sorry, no," she said before starting to walk over to the porch. "Cho- ah, Hakkai, let me know that you were found again. So I thought I'd give a couple of days before welcoming you back. Well, I guess it's more accurate to say that I was curious and wanted to see that you were okay?"

At the very least, she could at least admit to her curiosity. Even after the occasional awkwardness, Trance had no problem being open and honest about her intentions. Setting the pot of flowers on the porch, the blonde explained as a light perfumed scent started to fill the area, "I don't know what other name they go by, or the exact kind, but they're a kind of nicotania. I don't really know what happened, and I'm not going to ask either, but the flowers have a relaxing aroma to them. I thought it might help."

Hands now free, Trance considered offering it in greeting, but thought that maybe it wasn't the best idea. Especially when she doesn't know the circumstances that had him disappear before. So instead the golden woman's smile warmed to a more genuine expression. "My name's Trance."

May 14

[reformedsinner]

Hakkai had tried, for a while, to go back to sleep after Gojyo slipped out with his cigarettes. It'd been happening every night; nightmares, and sleeplessness, and a really shocking rate of accumulation of cigarette butts in the flowerbed just in front of the porch.

Letting him think it through didn't seem to be helping. Eventually, tonight, Hakkai had given up on sleep, rummaged for his house slippers and padded out to the porch.

The moon was just past half-full, the slightest of curves bulging out to tip the balance from dark into light. The porch absolutely reeked of smoke, and Gojyo was sitting there next to his other, silent shinki. Hakkai wonders for a moment if Asshole ever sleeps. Hakkai has certainly never caught him asleep, although his normal state, to be fair, isn't really awake either.

"You couldn't sleep?" he murmurs, pausing behind Gojyo and crossing his arms against the breeze, although even now, at the coldest depths of the night, it's close enough to summer that there is barely any chill in the air.

Again, he doesn't say. Gojyo surely knows he's noticed.

[erogappa]

Maybe Banri's brain was badly damaged by becoming a shinki, and he'd regressed to a kind of childlike state. That was the theory Gojyo was working with currently, and it wasn't a totally impossible one either. Maybe he needed to be taught like a child, instead of treated like an adult. So this evening -- or is it technically early morning? -- he's been trying to teach Banri a simple child's clapping game... with limited success. He could get Banri to copy the first few moves, which were done in unison, but then, when it was time for him to do the next set of moves, he simply stopped, hands raised, watching Gojyo with those blank, dead eyes.

It's a relief when Hakkai comes out and interrupts. He shakes his head, reaching over and pushing Banri's hands back down to his sides. "Moon was too bright," he lies, turning to glance up at Hakkai over his shoulder. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

[skyleopardess]

Yoruichi had waited a bit to stop by, figuring Gojyo would need time to settle in. So right around dusk, she leaves work, going straight to Gojyo's house rather than stopping at home first.

If all the smoke hadn't given him away, she'd have sensed him on the porch, so she heads that way, carrying a large tote bag. It's only polite to bring welcome home gifts, right?

She rounds the corner, raising a hand in greeting. "Yo, Gojyo." She grins, genuinely glad to see him back. "Are you up for some company?"

(ooc: I was thinking May 12th, but I can adjust the date if that works better for you!)

[erogappa]

(ooc: 12th is fine!)

After he and Hakkai had talked, and Hakkai had graciously offered to stick around and help keep his nightmares at bay, Gojyo had really thought that he'd be able to sleep again. But that was apparently just wishful thinking. "I'm gonna go smoke," he whispers to Hakkai -- he knows the man's awake, but this way they can both pretend otherwise if they want to. "Just on the porch. I'll be right back."

One cigarette has turned into four, all downed in quick succession. And while the nicotine is flooding the back of his brain and making that part of everything feel right again... absolutely nothing else feels the same. Or stable. Or safe. Part of him wants to drop his cigarette and bolt back into the bedroom, find Hakkai, cling to him and not let go until he's sure that he's not going to vanish again. And part of him is absolutely disgusted by that other part.

So when Yoruichi comes into view, it's a welcome sight on multiple levels. Here's company that isn't him hiding behind Hakkai like a coward... and, more importantly, here's a friend. Here's a distraction. He raises his own hand in response. "So long as your expectations are nice and low!"

whenever would be best for you!

[okitactless]

Why is Yamato even here, it's a mystery--

Well okay, maybe not that much of a mystery. He's here because Hakkai is here, and Yamato considers Hakkai to be one of his first (and thus, oldest) friends on this shore. So it makes sense that, now that the dust has settled on his end, he'd want to come and check in.

There just also happens to be one little thing Yamato doesn't know--the fact that Hakkai's missing god was actually Gojyo. Or that Hakkai and Gojyo have any connection at all. ...Or that this is Gojyo's temple, since he never got around to finding out which god Gojyo is supposed to be. He was too busy lecturing for that.

...or that Hakkai has his limiters off-- okay fine Yamato knows nothing there, it has been said.

So it is that he shows up in the evening, before dinnertime but bearing a bottle of wine. He did actually bother to look up just what Dionysus is the god of, since he's still intruding on a stranger's temple even if it's a visit to an old friend. He hadn't specified when he'd be showing up, though, not anticipating a difficult hunt--so here he is, wandering around aimlessly with his gift.

[erogappa]

People wandering aimlessly around the temple will eventually encounter Gojyo's first (and only heaven-assigned) shinki. He approaches Yamato without a sound -- he's not actually sneaking up on Yams, but that's only because he doesn't have enough will to do a thing like sneak. If he can get up behind Yamato without being observed, he'll reach out and tap Yams on the shoulder to get his attention (and not, as it may seem, to see how far he can make Yams jump).

And then he'll bow, the picture of politeness.

May 16th

[royaltyloyalty]

Dokugakuji's been wandering around the Far Shore for a few days since Gojyo's return - not that he knows it. Mainly, Doku just never knew where to find his brother; the most he'd gotten was from Goku: Dinosaur temple. It's perhaps apt that the place is called 'The Far Shore' because everything seems so far away. Finally, he gets really close to Dionysus's temple - and finally he senses it.

"Found ya."

There's some kind of nervous energy to Doku as he walks up to the front of the temple, but not as much as would have been there the first day he was there. He'd been so convinced before that he was dead, and now he's no longer sure. He decides to be a little ridiculously polite -- he comes up to the temple and knocks on the front entry way, loud enough he hopes the people inside will hear it. "Yo~ Anyone home? Looking for the resident Dinosaur."

[erogappa]

The resident Dinosaur doesn't hear Doku knocking -- he's out back -- but Asshole is always more than happy to gree guests. For a given definition of 'happy', of course.

The white-haired youkai man emerges from a side hallway and offers Doku a short bow. If he recognizes something similar in Doku's ears and clan mark, it doesn't show in either his expression or actions. Dinosaur isn't a word he's familiar with, so he waits patiently for the guest to make his wishes known.

May 15th, Middle of the night

[deniles]

It's been too long since he last heard from Gojyo, and even longer since they had last been together. He has no idea what's going on, and frankly, he didn't care until now. It's bothering him. Perhaps it's his internal system crying out for sex. But overall, he'd rather be less annoyed.

Especially after his actions on the network.

He heads to the temple, and looks around for the red head, smelling the cigarettes he's 100% familiar with.

"Gojyo!" Niles calls out, trying to get his attention as he heads to where the smoke is coming from.

Time to come face to face.

[erogappa]

Along with the smoke, Niles might also -- if his hearing is good -- have picked up the low murmur of a man's voice, coming from one of the patios on the side of the house. The murmur stops abruptly as soon as he calls out Gojyo's name, there's a quiet sibilant sound of somebody swearing fluidly under their breath... and then Gojyo emerges, his eyes red and puffy like he's been crying.

He stops with a jolt when he sees who it is that's come to call -- of all the people who he thinks might have come by to check on him, Niles is just about at the bottom of that list. "What are you doing here?!" he hisses, storming over to the other man. "You can't be here!"

Inside, he feels sick. Did Hakkai go to Niles when looking for Gojyo? Does Hakkai know about the two of them? Does everybody?