It's too early for this to be a Christmas Miracle... [open-ish]

[returnedfromtheline]

Who: Yukine and the people he knows. (And people he will soon know?)
What: Someone benefited from this unknown fruit phenomenon! Yukine is now TALLER!(And is totally not excited about it, can you tell.)
Besides being taller (180cm/5'9"), Yukine also looks a few years older. His voice sounds the same though, and he has the same slight build.
When: Afternoon of May 17, and up to May 20th.
Where: All over the place, Near and Far Shores.
Warnings: None


[One: Yato]
The day after working hard for the people of that small town, Yukine and Yato are back to working hard in another way. Cutting down ayakashi before they can harm humans. Averting disaster. Getting Yato closer to being a God of Fortune.

... Not that you'd know it to look at the guy. They'll work on that. Seriously, anything would be better than the track suit and ratty scarf.

On lunch break Yukine is probing the topic starting from "You've been around a while, right? What do you think 'bout kimonos?" When suddenly- he feels weird. He's trying to listen to Yato's answer, really he is, but his eyes look right through him, unfocus for a moment...
Blinking he rubs his hand across his eyes. He feels better in one way, but now there's a different problem-
"Geh- Wh-what the hell? Why is everything so tight?!" It hurts, actually. His pants are too short and too tight, his shirt is pinching at him, and his shoes feel way too small.


[Two: Bishamon and Kazuma]
Yukine is on his way to show off visit the people he knows. And, well, ok- the fact that Yato was worried over what happened to him made him want to go to Bishamonten-sama's first, just to see if she knew anything from her experience.
(...But mostly to show off.)

Showing up in Bishamon's courtyard in a pink collared shirt and black pants (that are both a bit too large for him, but better that than too small), he catches the first shinki he sees to find out where the god and her exemplar are.


[Three: Everyone else! aka the choose your own adventure option]
There are some normally scheduled things, like tutoring. And some things that aren't scheduled, but an easy reason to visit, like sword practice or visiting cats.
Or perhaps you just happen across Yukine - even though he looks different, his name on his collarbone is still easy to spot. Not knowing how long this will last (forever, right!), he will be spending some time clothes shopping. Shirt to shoes, he needs a new wardrobe.
However he meets people, Yukine will be quite happy to pause and chat for a moment.

[[OOC: Prose or [bracket] formats ok!]

Comments

[dominatriarch]

[ The shinki who has the... good fortune... of seeing him first is Kuraha. There's a momentary look of confusion on his face as he approaches the stranger which is replaced by a look of surprise when he realizes who it is. He's quick to tell him that he's come at an inopportune time but the protest dies in his mouth. Surely, his master and Kazuma would want to see this.

When he leads Yukine down the familiar hallways, he's quick to note that his companion's turning a few heads. Some of Bishamon's other shinki have noticed the change and some of them are stealing glances at him when they normally would have just waved or said hello. But eventually, they come to the main office.

Where Yukine may have expected to see Bishamon seated at her desk and working on papers, he would insead find someone else. A man. He's a lean creature, the muscle of his chest and stomach visible through the open coat as he sits where she would have. He has the same hair: long, blond, falling behind him and reaching the small of his back before pooling on the seat. His eyes are focused on work, as she would have been but he does pause and look up. There's a look of surprise when he finally locks eyes with the shinki. ]

...Yukine...?

[returnedfromtheline]

[To be honest, Kuraha still makes Yukine a bit nervous and a little regretful every time he sees him. He was the one that gave him that scar, after all. Even though he didn't mean to. But the other shinki never made issue of it, for which Yukine is rather glad. Especially as they seem to cross paths often enough.

Yukine inwardly smiles at all the attention he's getting. They're so surprised, right? He looks really good, right?

Then they get to the office.
Yukine stares at the man in the chair. Whaaaa...? The hair is one thing, but as soon as they lock eyes- there is no mistaking those violet eyes.

Jumping back Yukine points at the man in astonishment and shouts-]

Bishamon?! --Ten-sama? [That last part falls out of his mouth more by habit than anything. Totally forgetting about himself for a minute he blurts out,]

Wh- what the heck happened to you?

[dominatriarch]

[ Kuraha certainly can't complain. It makes him look rugged, anyway. But he does nod at his master before stepping out. Best to leave them to their business.

There's a breath when Bishamon turns her... his... attention over to the shinki. Her fingers are pressed together, her brow clearly furrowed. Yup, that's Yukine alright.

Just taller. And he definitely got hit by the puberty stick. Like... really hard. ]

I could say the same for you.

[ Her look is calculating and curious. ]

When... did this happen?

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai pauses on the front porch as he sees a taller blond figure making his way up the path of Dionysus' temple. Is that really --]

Is that Yukine? There's something in the water; you're sprouting right up.

[Don't mind the oddly poetic tone of his comment. There is something in the water, or, possibly, the Heavens are just having fun. At least he hasn't grown cat ears.]

[returnedfromtheline]

[The poetic tone does catch his attention, actually. Call it a by-product of his training with Kazuma. But, whatever. He waves to Hakkai-san cheerfully.]

It is me! Hehe- thanks. Everyone is worried about the 'how' and 'why', but I'm just really happy to be like this now.

[reformedsinner]

It seems to suit you! Although it's not the first change that I've seen today.

[He, for instance, seems to be forced into speaking in verse.

He'll just remain grateful that he doesn't have to rhyme.

He beams cheerfully at Yukine, and adds:]

Is your homework done? Or has your sudden growth spurt been a distraction?

Three :D

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi is shopping for all kinds of clothes plus sandals when she spies the (tall) young man. Only after she sees the mark on his collarbone does shetry calling out.]

Oh! Hi there!

[She approaches with a bright smile.]

Are you like me?

[She holds out her right foot and twists it outward just a bit, making the symbol on her ankle obvious.]

o/

[returnedfromtheline]

[Being on the Near Shore and all, he’s not used to being called out to. Once she actually approaches does he realize that she’d been talking to him. (Sorry.)
Following her gesture, he looks down at the kanji on her ankle. He is a bit surprised, but nods.]

Yes, I am. [He pulls on the collar of his (borrowed) pink dress shirt to fully show his ‘yuki’ kanji.]

My name’s Yukine.

[pure_radiantics]

I'm Kairi.

[She pulls her ankle back while putting her hand on her chest out of habit for an introduction.]

I've been trying to meet as many shinki as I can. It feels less lonely that way.

[And she doesn't sound put out by the idea of making friends at all, as she smiles at him.]

That is, if you don't mind that we hang out for awhile?

three;

[roeh]

[Maybe it's only been a couple weeks but for Shepard, who hit the ground running on her violent return home, who didn't stop till it was all over, to her it's been an eternity since she stepped up for some practice.

With the old school gone, it's a little strange to be meeting here instead but she knows as soon as everyone gets down to business the feeling will fade.

And that's when she spots a familiar face. One of the few she trusts won't be going anywhere.]

I leave for a month and you shoot up like a beanstalk. That another thing I should just take for normal around here?

[She's got her practice sword resting comfortably at her side and a smirk covering her face.]

!

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine gives a start when this person starts talking to him. Although, it's nice to break for a moment. Practice has somehow felt more tiring, probably adjusting for the sudden change in his height.
At this point he's probably heard more 'of' "Commander-kun" than he's spoken to Shepard-sama himself.
He bobs his head towards her in a small bow.]

Ah- long time no see. Welcome back. [Well, relatively speaking. It'd be better if everyone went back to where they're supposed to be.
With a bit of a grin he takes in the compliment. (There totally was a compliment in there.)]

Thanks. It actually happened in an instant, not over a month. But weird as it is, I'll take it. ...Although at this point there's so much weird going on I'm going to lose track of what's normal.

3 meow

[sonofson]

[Animals are an easy way to get Goten's attention. He's just passing by when he stops and takes a couple steps back doing a double take. The next moment he's coming up behind Yukine to peek around him to the cats his attention seem to be on.]

Are they yours?

[Everyone he meets has animals! Hijikata with his hundreds of multi-colored ducklings, Tsuzuki with his cats and now this guy! Do sharks count as pets too cause that's really all Goten has around the temple he calls home.]

nyan~ /crashes in to you-!

[returnedfromtheline]

[Sharks only count if you give them names and they can do tricks for you. (Maybe?)]

[At the voice right by him Yukine almost loses his balance from surprise and turns around, his cheeks a little red.

Although he's crouched down to be near the cats, this boy is almost at eye level with him. Ahh~ this is such a nice thing, being so tall-! (Speaking of tall, what's with this kid's hair?)
Oh, right. Question.]

No, they aren't. [Sadness.] They're just strays that I run into from time to time.

[He shifts so that the kid can see them- a lazy-looking white cat with orange patches, a lanky grey kitten, and a reserved black cat that is sitting primly further back.]

Well- I don't know for sure that they're strays either. They seem friendly and well fed enough.

[Letting the grey kitten return to rubbing up against his hand he asks the kid,] Do you like cats?

remembers i was going to tag this whoops (three)

[revolutionfalcon]

[So it's getting closer to summer, and despite Shun's general contentness with having "one and a half" sets of clothes, it's starting to become more trouble than it's worth washing the same shirt overnight. So he's reluctantly clothes shopping (because there's never an occasion of him clothes shopping that doesn't hold that descriptor) for one more shirt, and that's it. Any more than that and he might give Hajime and Ren heart attacks, judging by their last reactions to him changing outfits.

Unfortunately, not all stores have that wide a variety of plain black shirts of absolutely no interesting design features, and in this one they happen to be part of a rack that's being looked through. If it was someone from the Near Shore, Shun would at least tap their shoulder first, but as soon as he gets close enough to this guy to know that he's not going to be able to look for what he needs without getting altogether closer than he'd like, his eyes are drawn to the name on his collarbone.]

You're in the way. [He doesn't sound aggressive, just faintly exasperated. He doesn't want to be here any longer than he needs to be.]

Welcome \o/

[returnedfromtheline]

[He’s in the way? This is the first time he’s been big enough to even register as a bother like that-! (Yukine is still finding compliments about his height in the weirdest places.)

Although mildly irked that the guy didn’t ask in a nicer way for him to move, Yukine still takes a couple steps to the side towards the end of the rack.]

Sorry.

[He’ll just finish looking through the dark colours here before moving on. (Which is to say, he's standing right in front of those black shirts you had an eye on, Shun. Sorry.)]

[okitactless]

Wonder of wonders, Yukine is actually taller than Yamato! This would make for a very interesting shift in their sparring dynamics if it were to actually last. Of course, as of this moment, they have no reason to think it won't.

But Yukine isn't the only one with surprise changes--whenever Yamato comes across him, Yukine will probably notice that his poofy ponytail has gotten much longer and poofier. So long, in fact, that if he were to take it down, it would probably drag on the floor. Are there small children hiding in there? Quite possibly.

If it's putting enormous strain on his neck, though, Yamato doesn't seem to show it. He just smiles at Yukine, though his eyebrows rise as he looks up at him. "Yukine-kun, how much milk did you drink to get that tall?"

[returnedfromtheline]

Being taller than Yamato-san is a wonder! Yukine is very much enjoying this- but wow. w o w that hair?

“Ha, three glasses every day, although I wasn’t thinking it’d go into effect all at once! And I could ask the same about...” pausing for a moment he murmurs thoughtfully under his breath, “... what do people eat to make their hair grow...?”

But grinning at his instructor again he adds, “You could hide a whole family of cats in your hair!” ...! That would be really cute though! His expression lightening he adds, “you should try it!”

May 19th, afternoon

[galactically]

[With the beginning of summer just around the corner, Sheryl takes the opportunity to think of the best bikini to wear — from a specific design that flatters her voluptuous body type to bold colors that complement her skin tone (and of course, that doesn't clash with her vibrant pink hair). It's why she's weaving through the aisle with an armful of bathing suits of many colors and designs; it can't all be bikinis, naturally. There are one pieces, too!

A tall, blond man happens to catch her attention upon walking towards the shorts aisle, causing her to stop and stare at him for a bit. This may take a turn for the awkward...]

Now what's a handsome man like you doing— [...] here...

[Whoa, that face is familiar! And so is the tattoo on his collarbone once Sheryl finally pays attention to it. She stumbles back, widening her eyes and gasping in shock. It may been a long while since she'd seen him, but not that long that she forgets who he is.]

Yukine?!

/promptly dies laughing

[returnedfromtheline]

[The sense of being stared at catches his attention, seeing as he's on the Near Shore and all- he should be pretty unnoticeable. So he turns to look and-

And then-

"Handsome man". Yukine's mind pretty much stopped on this highly unusual but most amazing compliment. He's ... really... not sure what to make of this...

Especially once his brain catches him up to the fact that it came from Sheryl-sama.]

H-Hi, Sheryl-sama. I'm just looking for some new clothes. You can see why, eh?

["Handsome man" is still echoing in his head~ Yukine looks rather pleased, even if the tips of his ears are going a bit red.]

[Three!]

[fizzipocus]

[It was one thing to like cats, but it was entirely another to figure out how to interact with them when she couldn’t remember how to do that. They didn’t like being chased or manhandled; she knew that much, but that put her in the awkward situation of wanting to interact with the cats but thinking that approaching them would be a bad idea.

But they were so cute...!]

Is it better to just wait and let them come to you?

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine looks up from the three cats he'd been paying attention to, his eyes wide in surprise for a moment. She noticed him so easily? Is she from the Far Shore?
But yes, let's talk cats first.]

Um, yah, more or less. But you can kinda invite them. Try holding out your hand.

[He shifts a bit, so that the grey kitten he'd been petting can get a better look at the newcomer. The cat perks its ears forward curiously.
The other two cats, a lazy-seeming white cat with patches and a prim black cat, watch on.]

3! finally! May 18

[shadowrevenger]

[When Yukine eventually makes his way to visiting a certain group of cats and their owner, Ren is there waiting for him in the courtyard with a kitten sleeping on the seat next to him, although it was less because Yukine texted him first and more because he's seemingly hard at work on...something and this is where he happened to be.

It might not be immediately obvious he's the one sitting in that seat, though, because he also has some new changes, and between his new blue hair and eyes and the look of concentration on his face, he does look quite different (although the usual red and black clothing is probably a giveaway). He also doesn't do much other than very briefly glance up when he hears Yukine come in, just enough to catch a glimpse of his hair and know its him, instead going ahead and finishing the sentence he's working on before anything else.

Somehow, he didn't notice that Yukine is quite a bit taller during that glance. Somehow.]

\o/!!

[returnedfromtheline]

[Letting himself in, he notices someone with bright blue hair, and at first thinks that Suzugamori-sama has another guest. Especially seeing as the guy only glanced up at him, not calling out or showing any recognition.]

Um. [Raising his voice so that he could be heard beyond the courtyard he calls out-]

Pardon me! I’m here!

[Not that cats are like dogs in that they’ll come running at someone’s voice, but it’ll probably bring at least one of them out. As well as letting Suzugamori-sama know he’s here.

Yukine looks at the blue-haired guy again. A new shinki? That … maybe had to borrow the god’s clothes? They look kinda familiar. No wait, he kinda looks like Suzugamori though?

Sorry, Yukine has been drawn into not-so-subtly staring…]

[5yenwish]

[Yato is idly watching whatever happens to be on the TV, picking at some chips that he managed to get his hands on. He's actually only barely paying attention to Yukine's question when the confused noises catch his attention.

At which point he looks at Yukine. And his eyes go wide.]

Yukine! What did you do?!

[YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE THAT TALL.]

[returnedfromtheline]

What? Nothing! I didn't do anything!

[Even as he speaks he's hurriedly trying to unbutton his pants, as they hurt the most.]

What the hell- will I even be able to get out of them like this? It hurts- [And the button is pulled so tight it's not budging.]