011 | Black Parade

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Parade of the dead
When: All day May 26
Where: Shinjuku
Summary: The Near Shore needs a little protecting from the dead



The last few days have been filled with festival food, high energy, and lots and lots of parades. Near Shore residents really know how to enjoy their holidays, stopping up traffic for hours on end as floats and palanquins go by and filling the streets and courtyards in the area with food stands and festival treats. Many Far Shore residents may have found themselves drawn to this particular festival, as it is being held in honor of a shrine.

When an unexpected parade starts up, the people gather round to watch the impromptu spectacle. It's a little strange, yes, but nothing too terribly off-putting. That is until the parade reaches the shrine itself, at which point all hell breaks loose as the members of the parade start attacking anything and anyone in their way.

The Heavens will then call upon all the gods and shinki who are available to help, because these attackers are not normal at all - they are, in fact, the undead.



Let the Festivities Continue

The festival is a large, booming one. There are dozens upon dozens of food stalls set up all over the place with so many different kinds of foods that it could make your eyes go buggy, most of them fried in some way. On top of that, there is live entertainment walking around, stalls with souvenirs, and lots of excellent company nearby. Surely you'll be able to enjoy the festival to its fullest.

The Walking Dead

It is not immediately evident that the parade is being manned by corpses, but keen observers would be able to pick out the noticeable rotting elements of the dead. Anyone with a soul-sensing ability might even realize that they're not soulless, just lifeless. When the parade reaches the shrine, every god and shinki will be needed in order to protect the Near Shore from this menace. Corpses must either be exorcised or completely mutilated to the point where they can no longer move in order to release the soul.

Not Rootbeer Floats

On top of the mass of dead bodies being possessed by stray souls, some of the floats on wheels in the parade seem to have been taken over as well. They are moving slowly and with purpose towards anyone that crosses their path. At first, it may seem like the float is just veering a little off course, but it will soon become evident that it's headed towards you. They may be slow, but they're very large as well, meaning there's a lot more than needs to be destroyed to release the soul.

Souls, Souls, and More Souls

As souls are released from the objects they've taken control of, the air will become thick with a hazy fog of souls rushing away, into the air, and out of sight. This may make the continued fighting a little more difficult, but it means that the job is getting done.

Through some innate sixth sense, some of the dead people may seem familiar to certain gods (or shinki with specific memories). They can recognize some of the souls as friends or compatriots from their home world that had died. And these souls will recognize them as well.

Any characters not currently in the game that have actually died in their canon are free to be used for this part of the event and played out as NPCs by you and whatever partner you are playing with. All of these individuals will react in a similar way, though - they will beg to be released because it hurts them so horribly to be here right now and, of course, they can only be released in the same way that all the other souls are being released: exorcism or total destruction.

In Summary:

• Enjoy the festival
• Help save Near Shore residents
• Take down the dead bodies
• Try not to cry
• Cry lots
• Have fun~

Comments

Chikusa Kakimoto - ota

[kokuyoyo]

0 ◎ Flashback (no response)
[Pulling, tearing, force jerking back his too thin frame, and he can feel the blood splattering out, dripping out, and he's crumpling to the ground, body unable to sustain itself from where it had flung itself defensively. Even as he's falling, there's a guttural roar overtaking the roaring in his ears, and he watches as the blur that is his partner goes lunging over his head. What he does to the mafioso responsible, Chikusa can't say, his head hitting the ground and his vision blurring, but his horrified screams turn to gurgles.]

[The world is swimming, darkness tainting the edge of his vision, and all his attempts to force his body upwards like he has so many times before amount to nothing. It's familiar clawed hands tugging him up that do it, and Ken's face comes into view. So many emotions twist it, his partner as intense and passionate as always, but this... This is something else. Even as his body loses more and more energy by the minute, Chikusa feels something in his chest tug that Ken can be that intense not only because of their leader, but him. A shame that the emotions are a complicated twist of rage, despair, and desperation. He's yelling something- always yelling, Chikusa tries to reach up to make him stop, but there's no strength in his arm, not even to twitch, and it's getting harder and harder to see him past the darkness...]

[Chikusa Kakimoto breathes in, and doesn't breathe out again.]

A ◎ Outside the Meeting Hall
[Chikusa Kakimoto breathes out, and keeps breathing.]

[For a second, all he can do is lay there, blinking up at the sky. Ah. I'm dead. He thinks the thought idly, unsurprised, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. His eyes flick around, automatically assessing his surroundings for danger.]

[It seems like... any other building, honestly, although relatively well kept, and bustling with people. He's not the only one who seems out of it, he notes, although it doesn't seem like this is a worry for anyone. There's not a sense of panic or danger.]

[...Not very threatening, he supposes, although a mystery. With that taken care of, he looks down at himself. A dark green and military style school uniform meets his gaze, along with the glint of a solid ring with a blue gem in its center. In his pockets, two yoyos- weapons his mind supplies, which he accepts without questions- and a strange cube of some sort. Nothing else out of the ordinary.]

[...Well. As much as he'd like to just lay down not doing anything, he supposes he should find some answers. So enjoy the fifteen year old boy wandering around in what is a frankly atrocious slouch, looking faintly lost and shying away from close proximity with others.]

B ◎ Let the Festivities Continue
[It's probably really strange for someone to wake up dead and then be immediately shunted into a festival, but Chikusa is honestly more fidgety that he's here at all. There's really too many people for his liking, but, well... He's still attending. That's something, at least.]

[Anyone else also wandering around will get to see him hanging around the food stalls in particular. He seem to just be watching things idly before- oh. Well. It looks like someone told him about invisibility, because he reaches out to just straight up snatch something when no one is paying too much mind to it. Takoyaki? Chocolate banana? Taiyaki? It doesn't matter, it's his now, and he makes to slip away.]

C ◎ The Walking Dead
[For all that he's wearing glasses, Chikusa is actually pretty sharp eyed and knows aaaaaall about dead bodies. A good thing, then, that he ended up getting swept along in the crowd to watch the parade and couldn't make a break for it. It only takes a few short moments of watching the parade, his head cocked to the side sharply like a hunting hound, before he catches on.]

...Those are corpses...

[How close are you to hear that idle observation?]

Prompt A

[small_reservations]

[It's just another morning. Or it should be. Axel doesn't usually dream much, or remember his dreams when he does, but today he wakes up from what could only be a vivid hallucination with full memory of it.

However, that memory... doesn't fade. Indeed, it grows sharper as he tries to recall it. There's no pain. There should be pain. There's some sort of weapon, hot metal to the gut, bleeding and just. No pain. The knowledge that he - or whoever's memory this is - was dying is there, though. It takes him a bit, but soon enough he figures out what it means. This has gotta be it. He's got a shinki waiting for him.

It takes him a few minutes to prepare, and he gets a little lost on the way to the heavens - he's a fairly new god, after all - but soon enough he's at the meeting hall of the gods. There're more than a few new shinki around, but he knows his on sight. The kid with the deep, yet tired-looking eyes. Even in eternal rest, Chikusa looks exhausted.

Taking a slow meandering path through the building gives Axel time to look at his new partner from all angles. He's tall, but doesn't look that impressive... but then again, looks can be deceiving. The way he carries himself isn't promising either.

Eventually, though, the young god(dess) approaches, an easy grin on his face.]

Hey, kid. You got a name?

[He knows, somehow, what Chikusa's name is, and his shinki name, as well. It's just... he's not positive how this works yet. He needs confirmation.]

[kokuyoyo]

[The fact that he's being looked over doesn't escape Chikusa's notice, and he's not sure what to make of it. As far as he can tell, he can't sense any aggression or violent intent from the redhead. Will it be a problem? Will all the others get this inspection as well?]

[It's not entirely unexpected when he's approached, and Chikusa pauses, quiet and still. With how little he knows, he supposes his name logically should be as much of a blank as anything, but-]

Kakimoto Chikusa.

[It's said as slow and quiet as the rest of him. Although it's said in the proper Japanese way, there's an undeniable hint of accent over the foreign name.]

...Where is this?

[And should he be here, more importantly? Frankly, he's puzzled and feeling more than a little lost. What is he doing here, what's his purpose? Being dead doesn't bother him, but not knowing what to do does.]

[small_reservations]

[Well, that settles it! Definitely his shinki.]

Alright, Chikusa... Let's get out of here. I hate this place.

[With that, he turns on his heel and starts to walk out. Last time he was here, it was for a lecture addressed to all the new gods about the dangers of talking to your shinki about their pasts, and after that everyone kinda looked at him funny. He's still not fully sure about the story behind that, but he didn't particularly appreciate it.

If Chikusa follows, he'll lead him out and through the heavens, on the way to the far shore proper.]

B

[moonlitknight]

[ Invisibility or not, you can't mask your scent which Zero easily picks up when a vendor starts shouting about missing food followed by the next vendor and the next. Sighing to himself, Zero tracks down the culprit down. ]

If you're hungry, you should have just asked.

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa stops staring thoughtfully at what he's collected, glancing up from the conundrum on how to carry this all back to his new home.]

....That defeats the point.

[Obviously.]

[moonlitknight]

[ He's not even remorseful. ]

And what's the point?

B

[reformedsinner]

I believe that's three hundred yen!

[Or so the sign tacked on the front of the red-and-yellow booth indicates. Hakkai's beaming from his position a few paces behind the young man, decked out in a dark blue yukata to match their surroundings.

He also has a very large stuffed cat toy tucked under one arm. It spoils the authoritative look.]

[kokuyoyo]

[It certainly does something to the authoritative look. In fact, it seems to utterly throw Chikusa off, blinking blankly at the older man. If he were a lot more.... serious looking, honestly there's a chance he might have simply booked it.]

[But the stuffed cat toy is just... confusing.]

...No?

[But he doesn't sound as blandly stubborn of that as he might usually. He's still staring at the stuffed cat.]

[anecdaughter]

[Just as Chikusa's hand reaches for a new snack, a much smaller hand bumps into his.

kill bill siren]

[kokuyoyo]

[ !]

[Immediately, Chikusa jerks his hand back, not sure if he's bumped into someone of the near shore or far, and if he should be worried if it's the latter. He just got here; he has no idea what the rules are still.]

C

[shockshot]

[Close enough, as things go. And Masaki...had thought it would just be another procession, and things would be all right. Nope. This isn't all right. This is really not okay.

This is actually kind of disturbing, but it's not the corpse observation that's shaken her up a bit.]

...they have souls.

[She's staring at them. This is creepy.]

There are souls in their dead bodies.

[kokuyoyo]

...So that’s not normal…

[More winning observations with Chikusa Kakimoto.]

[But then… For him, this feels like something that needs to be cleared up. He only woke up not that long ago. What is normal, what is abnormal, it’s all still a mystery. And if it’s not… Should he go find his god and tell him about this?]

C

[lilys_poise]

[Yay! A second parade!

Elise honestly has no suspicions whatsoever as the unexpected parade passes by. She's enjoying it just as much as she enjoyed the first one...

until she hears that quiet observation. She whirls around to stare incredulously at the taller boy.]

Wh- what??

[He can't be serious, right?]

[kokuyoyo]

[The surprise is honestly, well, a surprise to him, and he blinks down at her.]

Can’t you tell?

[Telling living people from dead people is a regular life skill, right?]

B

[idkmybffgon]

[Oh, Killua definitely sees this guy stealing food.

And there's only one thing he can do in response.

Stealing from people who can't usually see you is easy, in his mind, so he'd much rather have a go at stealing from the thief.

So, casually, he'll bump into Chikusa, make an awkward apology, and then head off, some liberated taiyaki in his hand and a grin on his face.

Missing something~?]

[kokuyoyo]

[...Goddammit, can’t a shitty teenager rob food stalls in peace?]

[There’s a small noise of protest when he’s bumped into, purely because Chikusa despises having his space invaded, and he’s frankly glad when he can turn away and take a step forward… before realizing what’s happened. Sighing in annoyance, he adjusts his glasses as he turns back to quickly spot the thief.]

[Well. Frankly, the meat is probably already nibbled on, but that’s not really a bother to him. And, anyway, there’s the principle to this. He could steal more, but…]

[It’s easier to reach into his pocket while the kid is still in view, snapping out his wrist and sending out a yoyo spinning straight for the back of that white haired head. The fact that he inherently knows there’s more weight and force behind his yoyo than is normal and could do some real damage isn’t something he cares about.]

C. slams down like an avalanche

[disciplineking]

[Hibari doesn't like crowds or people. He certainly hates parties and parades, he'd come here to the Near Shore just to get away from people and investigate, not get caught up in a literal corpse party.

Because that's what it was. It took him very little time to figure that out just from the details and the fact that he had gone near them just to get out of the way of everyone else.

He really didn't want to deal with this; zombies were no fun to fight, but they may be good at least for some cathartic violence. Of course, his walking up alongside the parade meant he caught Chikusa's comment, being a fellow Near Shore resident.

Hibari's head flicked towards him, the kanji for 'bite' emblazoned on his face.]

You'll be one too if you get in my way.

[At the same time, he flipped out his tonfa, which were already glowing purple with cloud flames.]

[kokuyoyo]

[...Well then.]

[With a response like that, Chikusa’s first instinct is to simply leave. Dealing with that kind of person… It’s too troublesome. Best to stay out of the way and find his god.]

[But then… Those flames spark to life, and he can’t look at anything else.]

[Unbidden, automatic, words filter into his head. Cloud flames. Propagation. Aloof, drifting, unbindable. The flickering pale flames- and that’s what they are, flames, no matter their coloration- are as familiar to him as anything.]

[Why? He can’t remember anything of his life, doesn’t know what it means to be a shinki, so why is this…?]

[Delving deeper into those thoughts makes him uneasy, but he can’t help but linger, watching the other teenager sharply.]

A

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi catches sight of the young man and a few others exiting the Meeting Hall before and after him. That's not where she started her journey, but it does seem rather interesting to have a small group leaving together. So she approaches.]

Hi there. I was curious what was going on in the Meeting Hall today? My name's Kairi - I'm a shinki here.

[kokuyoyo]

[Being approached seems to startle him lightly, shoulders rising a little bit as he blinks at her in apparent confusion. Nothing really makes sense right now, and he has to admit that he's simply drifting along after others as if they might lead to answers.]

...Is that where this is...?

C

[handsome_genius]

[Yoon snorts lightly from somewhere directly behind Chikusa.]

Of course they are. You only just noticed this is a parade for the dead?

[He hasn't been paying attention that closely just yet at this point.]

[kokuyoyo]

Oh.

[Noncommittally, he glances back behind him at the speaker.]

So, this sort of thing is normal on the Near Shore…?

Prompt B laaaaate

[volksdaemon]

[Schuldig notices the little bit of filching but genuinely doesn't care right about now. He just waits until he can catch Chikusa's attention and grin at him.

But hey, he's still not gonna tell, because he's here enjoying the festival too, thanks to his mood swing. Besides, Chikusa's dour expression, the very I-don't-want-to-be-here attitude, reminds him greatly of Nagi.

The next time Chikusa goes to snatch something, he might notice the stall owner straight up offer a chocolate banana to Chikusa for free. Schuldig will be within visual range at that point, giving no physical signal of his involvement in that, except for another smile in Chikusa's direction.]

[kokuyoyo]

[The first time he’d seen the redhead, he’d been…. Wary, but willing to ignore him. After all, while he’s had a couple of people now tell him off for casual petty theft, he’s also had an equal amount of people engage in it with him. Maybe this is one of them. Either way, he wasn’t interfering, so need to worry, right?]

[But then… when the stall owner straight up offers something to him.]

[Even struck with empathy to make him not an asshole, Schuldig will probably still enjoy the feeling which radiates from Chikusa, which can be described thusly: ]

[?]

[??]

[???????]

[Paranoid and confused, Chikusa’s first inclination is to look around, and Schuldig’s bright red hair makes it easy for the eye to get drawn to him. It’s not an answer, but the fact that he’s already looking over and smiling is just about as confusing as the fact that he’s being handed something for free instead of having to snatch it. Still, after a brief second, he accepts it, and shuffles away looking uncertain.]

[Everything in him says that he should be suspicious, and by all means he is, and yet at the same time…. He’s not sure what to make of it.]