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

I hurt already, fuck

[koukai_kirai]

[For one of the first times in their lives, Souji doesn't understand.]

[He can never let Souji understand.]

[His fist clenches around the hilt, his knuckles white, his hand shaking.]

No. No, I can't, I won't --

You won't fail me.

[It's not Kondou's body, of course, but the sadness in his smile...]

Please, Toshi. I can trust you with this -- Let me trust you with this...

[Hijikata takes a step back from the man, his head shaking slightly, his eyes stinging as tears prickle at the corners of them.]

Nothing is okay :|

[spes_phthisica]

[No. This isn't someone Hijikata "knows". That's the wrong word.

Too late he understands what the trembling hands mean, clutching him like a lifeline and yet suddenly incapable of wielding him like he's meant to. Too late the struggling breath, the failing voice, the pain and denial clinging to every word suddenly makes sense.

He'd been wrong. This... This is someone Hijikata loves.

Too late to take back his words, yes, but perhaps not too late to try to help, in whatever way he can.]

I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't realize that- This is someone important to you, right? [He doesn't need to wait for an answer, not now.] I'm sorry, Hijikata-sama, but... you can't help him. But if you want, I can do it instead. I can use Borderlines. If- If you return me to my other form, you won't even have to see it happen.

[koukai_kirai]

No.

[The tone of it is different than before -- no longer trembling with desperate denial, but soft and decided, aimed directly at Souji.]

It's my responsibility, not yours. If this is what he needs from me...

[He'd do anything for Kondou. Even if it kills him.]

[Even if it breaks his heart.]

[The body Kondou is in sighs, and looks... pitying.]

I'm sorry to ask this of you. You always did so much for us all, Toshi...

[Hijikata shakes his head again, tears spilling freely down his cheeks.]

You can never ask too much of me. Let's... let's meet again, and not like this.

[A breath in, a breath out...]

I swear I'll make it quick.

[Kondou laughs, pained and bitter and somehow genuinely fond at the same time. Hijikata wishes it sounded just a little more like his usual laugh.]

Thank you...

[spes_phthisica]

I understand. He's your friend, after all.

[Souji wishes more than anything that he could hold his God now, comfort him. But no, he still has a job to do. It will be his God's decision, because that's how Hijikata wants it, but he still needs a weapon.]

Together, then. After all, you're never alone now, Hijikata-sama... right?

[It's all he can offer in the way of comfort right now. He wishes suddenly that there was something more he could do, some way to not have this happen, because the spirit stuck in that body seems so nice, and Hijikata deserves to have a friend like that around.

He doesn't deserve having to kill a friend like that, that much is certain.

In the space where his soul resides, Souji shakes his head and then bows it in silent defeat. There is no changing this, and no reason to drag it out.]

I'm ready. I'll make myself so sharp, he won't even feel it.

[koukai_kirai]

I'm counting on you.

[He's glad that he didn't run across Kondou without Souji -- he can't bear the thought of having to kill him slowly.]

[Hijikata takes another deep breath, steeling himself, reminding himself who he is. He's the demon who watches over the Shinsengumi, the man who dirties his hands so Kondou won't have to, the one who can do anything for his goals (and what higher goal does he have than doing what's best for Kondou?)...]

[He adjusts his grip, shifts his stance, and strikes.]

Rend!

[The neck first, then the shoulders, then the legs, slashing cleanly through joints that have already begun to deteriorate. Kondou holds the body still for him until finally, as it collapses with the legs cut out from under it, his soul comes out and floats away, with a sound that strikes him as... relieved, somehow.]

[Hijikata, on the other hand, collapses to his knees, dropping Baiki on the ground to grasp at a hand that was never really Kondou's, cradling the arm to his chest, bowed over to the ground in grief. His voice is rough and choked.]

Souji. Return.

[spes_phthisica]

[This feels different. Tearing apart all those bodies hadn't been that strange, they were enemies and that's what he was meant for. But this, in the short span of the emotional exchange between the spirit and Hijikata, has somehow become... personal. Because it's a person Hijikata loves, because it's someone he cares about, it feels somehow like Souji should feel the same.

Maybe that's weird, because it's not like he even knows who this person is. But just for a moment, it's still true, and Souji finds himself feeling genuine sadness and regret about the task he's being used for. More for something that could be, he supposes, than for what actually is.

When it's over, he only stumbles slightly as he abruptly returns to his human form, but he already knows what's needed now. He sinks down next to Hijikata, one hand coming to rest over his God's hand, over the lifeless arm he holds onto as if he could reclaim something that just isn't there. That maybe never was.]

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. [What else is there to say?]

[koukai_kirai]

[Hijikata shakes his head a little, though he doesn't know why. It's not as if there's any convincing Souji right now that he's doing just fine.]

...He was dead already. It's...

[It's not alright. He's not alright. What is he even supposed to say?]

[spes_phthisica]

[Souji just shakes his head in return at first, placing his other hand on Hijikata's cheek. He brushes his fingertips along the trails of tears there, not trying to wipe them away as much as physically acknowledging their presence.]

He was, and after having already said goodbye once, you were forced to do so again. It was cruel. Anyone would be hurting.

[You'd have to be heartless not to hurt, and the Heavens - and also Souji - know that Hijikata is anything but.]

But you had no choice.

[koukai_kirai]

[There's so much he wants to say. He wants Souji to know -- to know what kind of person Kondou was, how much he loved both of them, how much both of them loved him, how unfair his death was even the first time, what it did to him to lose him when they'd both lost so much whatsoever...]

[He can't. He can't, because he can't say too much, can't risk losing Souji, too...]

[He grasps Souji's hand, turning his face in towards it, hunched over and shaking, his chest achingly full of things he needs to say and can't, feeling like he could burst from them all.]

[spes_phthisica]

[He doesn't know why, but his own eyes suddenly feel wet, and he has to blink a bit too often. He can only suppose it's because he can feel Hijikata's pain so acutely, understands what he feels without having to be told. His first instinct is to not let it show, but it's not like he can go anywhere. So he'll just have to hope that Hijikata is too preoccupied by his own thoughts.

So much for that, the moment he wraps himself protectively around the other man, and immediately feels the tears spilling over. He hisses quietly a moment later, when the salt water encounters the jagged gashes left by raking nails on his right cheek, but quickly bites down on the sound. The last thing Hijikata needs is to worry about him right now.]

It wasn't your fault.

/late-ass tags everywhere

[koukai_kirai]

[And he clings to Souji, because his heart hurts too much to do anything else. After a moment, he manages to get the presence of mind to teleport them to the top of a nearby building, where they won't be attacked, but he can't manage to work up the will to even stand up right now.]

...He was like a brother to me.

[And again, he couldn't protect him.]