thenearshore | 011 | Black Parade

Entry tags:

011 | Black Parade

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

In Summary:

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Cute. It sounds perfectly reasonable. Hadn't Ayumu gone through a similar period not too long ago? Well, she supposes it was quite a while ago now. Suddenly recovering from that bout of amnesia is muddling her perception of time a little.]

I'm glad to hear it but I don't think he'd mind.

[And there's another slip, this time accompanied by an almost wistful expression. He'd always tried to get to her relax and take it easy, hadn't he? It clears up quickly enough. Normally, she isn't so easy to read but it's been a difficult couple of days.]

[There it is again... Maybe it's not a big deal? It's hard for him to read this things correctly, and he wishes there was someone else besides him better suited for the task. Well, it's only him, so he'll simply have to do things as best he can.]

Do you know Axel-sama?

[...By which he means simply asking bluntly.]

[Oh. Well, it's a natural question to ask, isn't it? Ayumu had been trying to keep things under wraps but even she's having trouble after yesterday.]

I'm not sure. Maybe. I used to know someone by that name.

[Huge understatement there, Ayumu.]

What does he look like?

[What does 'used to' mean.... This conversation feels strange even to him. Can you even use 'maybe' when you say something like that? His eyes stay locked on her now, although they're just as dull as ever.]

Bright red hair. Marks on his face.

[Hard to miss, in other words.]

[Very hard to miss or forget. It's too much of a coincidence.]

Green eyes? Does he dress in black, too? Are the marks teardrops?

[The red hair, marks, and name are all she needs to confirm it's him but she can't help but stall for just a little bit longer.]

So you know him.

[There's no point in dancing around the answer when the description is that exact, after all.]

[And there's no point lying to him at this point, either.]

Yes. Axel was my shinki before he died.

[Before she died.]

[What?]

[For a second, all he can do is stare, face slack in surprise. He'd known there was a connection- anyone could see it, even him. However, what's surprising is...]

[That can't be right, can it? Axel is a god, and- is there even a death for creatures like them? An afterlife? What would happen if he died, already dead as he is? Could she be lying? But then that would bring up of why using such an absurd lie-]

[It takes him a second to gather words for himself, for a response, and it's carefully guarded when it leaves his lips.]

He's alive now.

So I gathered from what you said. Sometimes people come back.

[She had. And Yamato's friend, the one who'd died during the attack outside her temple. He'd come back different, too, hadn't she?]

Death is a little strange around here. I think people forget things after they die.

[When Ayumu had returned from the dead, the only thing she'd remembered had been her talk with Toshi. She hadn't recognized her acquaintanced or remember Axel at all. Maybe it's the same with him, too. It's hard to believe Axel wouldn't call to tell her he was back otherwise.]

Has Axel said anything about being here before, Kakimoto-kun?

[It never hurts to verify.]

[This is… strange to hear, and something Chikusa thinks will keep him occupied for a good long while as he turns over the idea in his head. Death is strange here…. Maybe that’s only to be expected. Can you kill that which is already dead? Get rid of it completely?]

[The forgetting part is… worrying, and a part of him wonders if he should start recording things. A journal, of some sort. It’s something to keep in mind.]

...He hasn’t said anything to me…

[But then, Chikusa had no reason to ask. It’s put him into a state of wariness now, however, as he slouches just a little worse and looks at her. Could she be lying to him right now? Well… There’s no way for him to know until he asks his god…]

I see...

[Maybe this is a heavy issue to discuss on his first day here. Ayumu remembers all too well how overwhelmed she'd been her first day in this place. She gives him another sympathetic smile.]

Ah, it's probably best not to worry about it too much until after you get your bearings.

[Seeing him slouch like that makes her feel a little bad for burdening him like that on his first day. He's just a boy, after all.]

Are you still hungry?

[A bit of an awkward subject change but she's trying.]

[If he were more open and honest, Chikusa would admit it’s a little late for that. He’s already worrying over it, churning everything over in his head on what he should do about this information and if he should risk pressing forward. As his god’s shinki, his only shinki, isn’t it his responsibility to learn all about him and thus keep him safe that way…?]

[But that he keeps tucked away inside himself, glancing down at the skewer when she changes the subject abruptly.]

...Yes. But… it’s been like that for a while, now.

Hmm. How much have you eaten since your arrival?

[Festival snacks aren't the most filling of foods. Depending on how much Chikusa's eaten, he might need a larger meal. Speaking of meals...]

Did you see much in the way of groceries at the temple, Kakimoto-san?

Edited 2017-01-04 07:39 (UTC)

By now… [Another twist of the skewer in his hand.] ...I’ve probably tried most of the types of food at least once…

[He was bored, okay? And eating is the only thing he can think to do at a festival, since socialization is frankly too exhausting. At her question, however, he shakes his head.]

I only glanced in at the entrance before Axel-sama suggested coming to the Near Shore to eat at the festival.

[...So the answer is probably that they have jack shit. Or, at least, not enough for both of them.]

I see.

[Axel had always managed to look after himself well enough. It'd been why she'd been comfortable leaving him to his own devices more often than not. In the end, maybe that had been her mistake - not keeping a closer eye on him. Maybe Ayumu wouldn't have lost him like that if she'd simply paid more attention.]

When you get back to the temple, you can give me a call if there's no food, 'kay? I always make extra so I don't mind bringing something over.

[It'd be an excuse to verify that it's Axel with her own eyes and on her own terms. There's no easy way to meet the man that killed her, especially with the direction their relationship had been taking before they died. And from her own experience and his shinki's story, it's likely he's forgotten all about her.

Regardless of the outcome, Ayumu needs time to prepare herself. After their last encounter, she'd truly believed she'd never see him again.]

Are you that worried about him?

[Once more, a simple and blunt response.]

[But then, that has to be it, doesn’t it? Chikusa highly doubts that she has enough leftovers to make this kind of offer to every god and their shinki, so this kind of thing can’t just be a regular habit of hers. But if it’s a person who was once her shinki- an idea he’s still puzzling over in his head, turning it over in quiet bewilderment- then it makes sense for her to take a vested interest.]

[He’s not even accounting himself in this line of thinking at all.]

[Without missing a beat, however, he keeps talking as he nods.]

If it’s that bad…

[Well, he’s not against free food.]

It's something like that.

[That's the easiest, least complicated response Ayumu can give. It's not in her nature to open up too much to others. She'd frequently had to lie to even her own allies and though she's been trying to rebuild her life here, it's hard to break free of a lifetime of habitual dishonesty.

And it's hard to just stop caring about someone she'd once been close to and trusted more than anyone else outside the Shinsengumi.

That isn't the only reason though. She gives Chikusa a brief, almost sisterly smile.]

And I meant what I said. You're too skinny.

[Something like that… Well, if she’s not going to admit it, she’s not going to admit it. Chikusa lets it drop, and glances down at himself again with a raised eyebrow.]

….It’s not that bad.

[It’s only a little that bad.]

It is that bad. You're nothing but skin and bones.

[Maybe on another day, Ayumu would approach his physique with a little more delicacy but she's not one to mince words when it comes to caretaking.]

But I can still move and do things, so it’s not annoying…

[Thus he doesn’t see a particular reason why it should change, although her insistence on it is interesting to note.]

So long as I can still help my god, things are fine as they are, aren’t they?

Is that your standard of health?

[Really, Ayumu's in no position to judge given how often she's said similar things while wounded throughout her service to the shogunate. But hypocrites will be hypocrites and big sisters will be big sisters.]

I think you could aim a little higher than just competent, don't you?

[It comes out automatically without conscious thought, almost reflexive habit. It's been a long time since Ayumu's stood as an instructor but she's always been a sister and for much of her life with her brother, the roles were one and the same. And maybe, just maybe, this boy is reminding her subconsciously of Susumu.]

If you're just gonna strive for the bare minimum, there's plenty of other shinki capable of so much more. One of them could enter Axel's service and then where you'll be?

[Probably not the nicest thing to say to a brand new shinki on his very first day on the job but Ayumu's never been the kind of sister to give hugs and tend skinned knees and she's not really thinking right now.

And whatever else she thinks and feels about him being back as a god, he deserves better than a shinki that's just competent.]

You see? It's important you take good care of yourself, too.

[Funnily enough… While this would be an easy target against Chikusa regardless, what Ayumu can’t know is that it’s actually a freshly opened wound, something he’s still quietly stewing over. After all, Axel hadn’t said, explicitly, that he didn’t want him- only that the whole system wasn’t something that sat well with him. But in the eyes of a lost and confused wandering soul like Chikusa, one who had only found peace when he’d found someone to serve and dedicate himself to, it might as well have been those exact words.]

[It’s a scary idea, that he might be discarded, or replaced. More than he could have even expected, it strikes deep into the core of himself, a fear more strangling than a noose. So Ayumu’s words actually hit the right way for emotion to filter through his usual dull expression, eyes widening enough so that the flicker of alarm is visible in their pale depths. By the time she’s done, his shoulders are hunched even more than his slouching frame tends to make them- the picture perfect image of a scolded teenager.]

...I was going to learn more skills to be more useful to him…

[He does want to be more than merely competent.]

[Her expression softens ever so slightly but her tone retains its serious edge.]

That's better. It's important to be useful to those you serve - as useful as you possibly can. Learning how to do more things is a good start.

[Ayumu's given it her all for her own superiors since she was younger than Chikusa and continues to do her absolute best to help Toshi as much as she can.]

It's both rewarding and an honor to serve others. Even if sometimes success means sacrifice.

[There's a distant look in Ayumu's eyes as she says those words, almost like a mantra, her jaw set in determined line. Then she suddenly gives a warm, encouraging smile.]

So what skills are you looking to learn?

[For obvious reasons, he has no idea what he'd been doing up to this point- up until he had died. Still, everything she says makes perfect sense to him, and he gives an agreeing nod.]

[Serving is what it feels like he was always meant for. If he could accomplish something, learn something, and have Axel be happy or pleased by it... Chikusa thinks it'd be the greatest feeling of relief in the world. He just has to find out exactly what that is.]

I still have to find out what Axel-sama would need most... If there's something in particular he's interested in, or that he's weak in. But I think regardless of that, I need to familiarize myself with the city... If this is where one of his shrine's is, then I need to learn it completely, not just the major roads and places.

I think that will be important... especially if ayakashi are so varied and could be anywhere.

[A pause as he considers things some more.]

...And I'm not sure how important it would be... but learning more domestic tasks, maybe... and about the Greek pantheon... But those aren't skills, exactly.

[Ayumu nods like a satisfied teacher. He seems to be a quick learner with a keen mind. Both are valuable qualities for a student. Not that she has any formal plans to take him on as a pupil. She doesn't take on many students but the ones she does come out stronger than they were before.

They just also tend to come out hating her. Perhaps rightfully so. At this time of the day, Ayumu has no reason to believe Susumu doesn't hate her for how she trained and treated him.]

Those are all good goals to have.... Information is important, even if it seems tiny, insignificant, or unrelated at the time. Others might see things differently and be able to make connections you can't.

[Ayumu still isn't consciously aware of what she's doing or why she's giving him so much advice. But subconsciously, interacting with the boy this way just comes naturally to her.]

You never know which skills or knowledge will be crucial to the completion of a job. Circumstances, objectives, and opponents can vary greatly so it's best to be versatile and well-informed about a variety of things you're likely to encounter just in case. With the right training, knowledge, and skillset, you can make yourself irreplacable.

[Or so she's always believed and it resulted in her excelling as a shinobi within the Oniwaban. And only one person could ever succeed her in skill and prestige - the brother she personally trained to replace and eventually surpass her.]

If you're interested in learning domestic skills, I could probably teach you, Kakimoto-san. I preside over the hearth, too, after all. And maybe I could join your studies sometime. I could stand to learn more about the Romans myself.

011 | Black Parade

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