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

[She turns to ask the game owner but he sets down three balls in front of her.]

Just 400 yen per ball today! Or three balls for 1000.

[Kairi shrugs back over at Sousuke.]

Looks like that's that. Here, all three balls please.

[She hands him a 1000 yen bill from her pocket, flipping through her allowance for the day.]

Wish me luck!

[And Kairi aims her first ball, which hits a 20 point target and knocks it down, practicing her aim.]

[Sousuke glances to the three balls in front of Kairi. So she needs 100 points to get what she wants, and she only has three balls to do it with. Even with the fifty point targets, she’ll have to hit something every time. Obviously.]

Aa.

[He makes sure he’s not in her eyesight so as to not distract her from her work. But he does stay close enough that anyone thinking of being a jerk and trying to bother her isn’t going to want to test their luck. (Hey, it could happen, right?)]

Good luck.

[And twenty points right off the bat. Eighty to go.]

Yes!

[It didn't knock anything extra over, but she'd been just getting her bearings and it was exactly where she was aiming, anyway.]

Now to aim for that big one...

[She tries not to aim for the target itself, but rather right between the 30 and then 10 next to it. Strike both of them at once. Maybe pick up an extra 10 somehow...]

Ready, aim... Fire!

[She winds up really far and aims it a little too high. Lucky for her, it bounces off the back wall and forward again, bopping the two she'd been aiming for forward. In turn, they each snag a 5-point target with them.]

Wow, 50 the hard way! One throw left...

[The man says so and applauds for her and Kairi has to wonder if it's because he can barely remember what she looks like, not enough to get mad at her and scarcely enough to remember her point total, let alone wonder if she was cheating or just lucky.]

Okay, that's... 70 points. Do you see another way I could get 30 by chance, Sousuke?

[Sousuke finishes the skewer and silently tosses it to the side where it lands in the trashcan with a faint rattle. Swiping a napkin from the counter nearby, he wipes his hand a few times (maybe with a little lick of the fingers here and there) while he watches Kairi aim for the points. The first shot’s a good one, so now to see if she can keep that skill/luck going.

Hn, well that’s definitely luck, getting the points back from a rebound. And there it goes with a bit of the domino effect, toppling an additional ten more points. He glances at the owner of the stand. At least the man’s applauding her rather than silently mulling over the success like some would.

Though really, how can you cheat at a game like this?] There’s a 20 next to a 15 on the middle row. But there’s a 50 on the top row… [As for a straight 30 by chance? Not unless she’s able to repeat that pitch-then-rebound thing and still hit something on the forward pitch. Sousuke scans over the rows again, but comes up with nothing. She’s going to have to trust her aim and hope it’s true.]

Oh, you're right!

[She missed that 35-combo! The 5 digit kind of threw her off. She leans against the stand with the ball, trying to decide if a straight-on throw will actually get the both of them, the 20 and 15 target both.] I think I can do it. Phoo.....

[She decides to shift to the right a bit, hoping that by angling it like that she can just aim for the 15 and end up hitting the 20 anyway. Was that allowed? The owner seems not to have noticed. She tries not to throw so hard that her aim goes wild, but her nerves make her throw too hard, and in the end gets a hit that goes right into the 15 but kicks it to the left and back instead of reeling to hit the 20 behind it... and that tilts the shelf with the 20-pointer forward just enough to get that target to fall over.]

Oh my gosh...

[She raises her hands to her mouth as the owner scratches his chin.] So, what'll it be, little lady?

[Sousuke watches the proceedings with quiet interest, eyeing the different combinations that don’t add up to the 30 she needs. He’s pretty confident in his own hand-eye coordination, to the point that he’s considering picking up a set of balls for her just in case she misses. But he’s not about to suggest such a thing whie Kairi’s winding up for her final throw. So he stays quiet, letting her focus.

And here’s the pitch. Whatever she’s planning, it’s going into motion aaand… there’s the 15 she wants. He doesn’t even have time to feel condolence for her loss before the impact somehow tilts the shelf itself and the 20 points goes down with a metallic ‘clank.’ Honestly, he’s not even sure what happened there, but hey, it nets her 35 points and no one’s touched anything. So it counts.]

Nice throw.

[It’s a casual compliment, but he means it. When the man asks her decision, Sousuke glances to the lanterns hanging nearby. Maybe he should consider trying his hand at a game and win something. Obviously it will be for Rin.]

[She smiles back over at Sousuke.]

Thanks for the support!

[And she does mean it. Watching the subtle shift in his expression, she wonders if that means he's curious or thinking something else entirely and just lost in thought. But she supposes he'll tell her if it turns into something important. She points over to the same lantern Sousuke's looking at.]

The lantern, please!

[Carefully, the owner pulls it down and hands it to Kairi, who accepts it with both hands at first, then holds it up where the owner had been holding it and by its bottom.]

Thank you, sir! I look forward to hanging this up in my room!

[Then she steps to the side, looking at Sousuke. She wonders what he'd like to do next, if anything, so she waits to see if he's going to follow her off to the side of the stall or take his own shot.]

[He’s not sure what “support” he’s given her. Just a mention of where she might find some points. But she’s won and that’s good. Sousuke offers a tiny nod in response and then looks back over his shoulder. He frowns for a moment before stepping away and wandering from the booth, eyes scanning over the collection of people.

He doesn’t see him. There are a few maroon heads poking around in the milling crowd, but the one he’d recognize from anywhere isn’t there. For a second, he feels his chest clench and something he doesn’t want to remember floats back into his head. But he takes a breath and shoves it aside. They don’t need to be attached at the hips. This is fine. He’s fine and Rin’s fine. If something happens, there are plenty of people around.

The next time he looks down, there’s Kairi standing next to him, watching. And there’s her prize in hand, the lantern she’d wanted since the start. She’s right; it’s a nice prize for someone winning that many points. But unfortunately that also means he’s given up his place in line and someone else is already lining up the balls.]

Feel like trying your hand at other games?

[Aww, she's bummed he lost his spot. That's unfortunate. She didn't want to disturb him while he was taking stock of the crowd, but she doesn't know he was looking for Rin either.]

Sure. No problem.

[She carefully holds the lantern out in front of her just a bit. She's both afraid of crunching it by bumping into someone, and afraid that someone else will bump into HER because she's a shinki and thus naturally easier to just miss in a crowd.]

Hmm... darts.... ring toss onto floating ducks... what kind of game were you thinking, Sousuke?

[She's not sure what he might enjoy or be good at and doesn't think she can offer to win a game for him without insulting him. Besides, maybe he'll genuinely have some fun with it - whatever 'it' ends up being.]

[She shouldn’t feel bad; Sousuke had been in line to merely watch her try her hand at the game. She’d been in line by the time he finished getting his food earlier so why not? Still, he’s seen what he wants to and he’ll deal with it.

He glances down at the lantern Kairi holds out before her. It’s rather suiting for her, though he doesn’t know why. Call it a feeling or something. Noticing the care she’s taking to avoid damaging it, Sousuke shifts his steps a little to maneuver half in front of her, giving a “space” behind him that’s safe to walk in. Now she just has to worry about not running into one person rather than a bunch.]

I was going to follow you.

[Ironic since he’s walking in front of her. But he hadn’t given thought to a game he’d want to play. Considering the stands he’d gone to already are food stands. Still, he takes a look around, wondering what kind of game might suit him. Darts might be interesting… He has worked on his aim with Rin.]

Darts?

[Was going to follow her, she notes with a smile and a giggle. His efforts to give her a wide berth are appreciated all the same, because the lantern is still mostly paper and she knows it won't withstand one over-zealous festival attendee colliding with her. Him protecting her new prized possession makes her feel really good though.]

Darts sounds great - at least those can stick to the target.

[She makes sure to stay far enough back he doesn't even feel the lantern brushing his back.]

Hopefully they have good prizes there too, for the point options. Did Rin give you an allowance too? Or do you have a part-time job?

[A nice bit of small talk while he leads them through the crowd.]

[The other option is to keep her lantern up on his shoulder because he’s taller than a lot of the people here. But that’s a little rude since it’s her prize and all. Still, it’d be nice if that thing could collapse for safe travels. Too bad shinki can’t teleport like the gods can. She could jet to her god’s temple and then return just as quickly. Oh well. Speaking of…]

Aa. You’ve found your god already, right?

[He can’t recall if she introduced herself with her god’s relation or not. Honestly he’d been a little distracted during their first conversation. Gods were not high on his preferred topics at that time.]

I have some money. But we’ve talked about jobs since prayers aren’t always reliable income.

[As in a “Thank you, Eros” doesn’t put food on the table.]

Do you know anything about gods and shinki getting work?

Well, he found me, but yes. I've been here just about 10 days.

[No need to focus on the intricacies, but she does clearly like her god a lot.]

His name's Roxas, but his god name is Artemis. He does get a lot of prayers, but I don't like taking his money. I've been thinking about a part-time job lately as a result. I just wish it were easier for people to see us. It makes a lot of my ideas harder to accomplish if I do them.

[But she smiles as they come to a stop at the darts area.]

I think he'd let me do just about anything I decide on, though, so that's nice. I just have to pick one I can do on a weird, flexible schedule in case he needs to call for me.

Edited 2017-02-14 02:12 (UTC)

[Sousuke nods. It’s not a long time, but it’s enough to start getting a feel for the place. And he personally isn’t sure if he found Rin or if it was the other way around. Something he keeps to himself; it’s clear she enjoys her god.]

Artemis… Isn’t she normally a female god?

[That’s not something he’s ever come across in his time here; most gods are the same gender as their… god? But Sousuke doesn’t know everything so he rolls with it. As for the money thing, he nods silently in agreement.]

I’ve considered the same, but since people can’t see us well, holding a job is almost impossible. Other shinki’ve mentioned the same.

[He pauses as she does and glances up to the booth, wondering for a moment why they stopped. Oh, the darts. Right, he’d said something about that. More of a flippant toss than something he’d actually been aiming for.]

Good luck finding something like that.

[The quiet amused-yet-wry tone indicates he’s pretty sure something like that doesn’t exist or the shinki around them would already be clamoring for it.]

[She laughs and scratches her chin the way that Sora does when he's nervous, a new-old habit picked up from living with him.]

Yeah, that's Artemis. I didn't know about her either at first.

[Like all the childbirth stuff that poor Roxas has to deal with.]

There's... one or two other people like that, I think? Where the reincarnation is a little different this time... or however that works for gods.

[She admittedly hasn't had to worry about it too much currently.]

I can get people's attention, just not hold it for very long. Maybe some kind of volunteer thing where you can come and go... and errand boy type thing! I guess I'll just keep thinking about it.

[She watches him throw the darts and tries to be a good supportive friend by making sure no bystanders accidentally run into him by missing his presence. It makes her laugh to think that anyone COULD but hey they're shinki.]

[Sousuke nods at the explanation. He knows about Eros only by proxy, having instinctively recalled a few little facts and then hearing Rin talk about it. Maybe an event in the past that might’ve ended up with him doing a little bit of research on Eros, but that’s his own business.]

I think that’s common.

[At least as far as Rin goes, his god doesn’t like the idea that he’s “someone else” and he’s made it clear that as much as Sousuke’s a human and not a tool or mere shinki, Rin is Rin and not some random, reincarnated god despite bearing Eros’ mantel. Sousuke respects that decision, though it doesn’t stop the occasional tease. (Hey, Rin teases him about being a dog a lot more than Sousuke teases Rin about being Eros. So there.)]

Wouldn’t know. Most of the gods aren’t even “the gods” they’re called. It’s only a label for some.

[Listening to her talk about the potential job, Sousuke picks up a set of darts. The person manning the station apparently isn’t taking much count right now so while he won’t win anything for his efforts, it doesn’t cost him anything either. Sousuke eyes the dart board across the stand and then tosses, not exactly trying like a pro, but the flippant effort lands in the third-smallest ring.

Sousuke knows he has good hand eye coordination despite his size.]

Someone mentioned a life guard. It might be possible.

[Kairi smiles - that's the kind of thing that Roxas hasn't spent much time talking to her about, but on the other hand it's not something she can relate to either. Maybe that's why it's easier talking to other shinki sometimes.]

I think there are others who see it as... maybe they didn't ask for this label, but there are people depending on them to fulfill those duties anyway. Answer prayers and the like. So those people just don't want to let other people down - because they didn't mean to pray to someone who's in that position. They just want help. So if we can help them out anyway, I think I'm okay with that.

[It's definitely easier to focus on prayers and how to help out Roxas's other shinki if possible than what kinds of jobs are possible when people forget about you.]

A life guard's not a bad idea, actually - since you can rescue people whether they saw you five minutes ago or not. Are you really good at swimming, then, Sousuke?

[For all most the gods and shinki try to profess that they’re in partnerships and there are equalities shared among them, the truth is that there remains a huge imbalance. Not all of it’s on the gods either; Sousuke’s well aware there are topics and subjects, knowledge and skills, that take another shinki to relate to between shinki. The two kinds, gods and shinki, simply can’t experience the same thing.]

Some requests go to specific gods. But I guess that makes sense. [Strange to think random prayers get filtered to different gods. It’s a system, however strange. As for the rest of that, well… Not quite what he’d been intending, but since this is Kairi and he remembers quite well their discussion last time because they have very different views on things, he simply lifts his shoulders in a slight shrug.] So long as they’re not being forced.

[Sousuke picks up another three darts and shifts one to his other hand. Having had his practice tosses, he makes eye contact with the game operator and then focuses on the dart board again.]

My body is.

[And takes aim before letting fly and landing close to the center of the board.]

[She blinks a bit not wanting to disturb him while he's throwing his darts. He has a lot of focus, she thinks, which is a good thing. She tries not to grip her lantern too tight while considering how to politely phrase her question.]

Sorry, do you mean you're being forced, or you're good at swimming?

[She'd hate to presume anything, especially since she feels like she knows Rin a little by now. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd force anyone to do anything.]

[Sousuke’s satisfied with the first dart’s location. Okay so if his initial position put it there, then pick up the second one, lift to the same or similar height as last time, dart level with his eyes. Aim it towards the center again and get a good grip towards the thicker part, far away from the tail.]

I’m forcing myself. My body knows how to swim extremely well. But if I try to swim, my mind locks up when I think about it.

[He’s not trying to be difficult. It’s honestly a hard thing to describe and he can’t go too in detail with it or those nauseous feelings will come back. He knows it has something to do with… well… everything he can’t remember, which is obviously a no-go zone as he’s learned. So… he has to give confusing, short answers that won’t make much sense.]

Oh... I'm sorry I asked.

[And she's genuinely bummed out she dredged up something unpleasant for him to talk about. It sounds like a phobia to her, but she keeps that to herself. Maybe in his old life he was deathly afraid of the water... but that wouldn't explain being able to swim extremely well either. Hmm... It won't do HER any good continuing to think about it either if she's trying to convince HIM to move on from the topic too.]

We can talk about something else instead. Like how you're apparently good at darts too, Sousuke.

[Ah... she almost pointed out it could be because he has so much upper body strength but she realizes that doesn't quite make sense except to get the dart to stick in place, not his aim, but it takes upper body strength to swim well, right? 'Extremely well' anyway.]

I'll start looking for Rin too, see if I can find him for after you're done with the darts.

[He brushes off the apology. Had could Kairi have known? Especially with the way he’d answered so roundaboutly. With a refocus on the darts again, Sousuke let fly and the sharp point embeds itself in the board with a solid thunk. Again, close to the center, but he’s not making any bullseyes at the moment. While he’s good enough to routinely land close by, there’s no magical ace going on here. He has to focus on it though, otherwise he’ll end up thinking about swimming.

And he doesn’t want to deal with that right now.]

Apparently. [He’s definitely not practiced darts, but…] Rin and I work on targeting with our respective powers when we train.

[So he has practiced that way. Of course there’s a big difference between trying to land a tiny dart in the middle of a board and trying to smash his god’s face with a ball of water the size of his head. (Look, he’s trying to dodge this pink beam of concentrate energy that’ll knock him into a hell of an infatuated daze if it so much as grazes him; water to the face is fair turnaround!)]

It’s fine. I’m not attached to his hip.

[Yes, he does want to be able to see his god because of his experience with being stolen, but he also knows both he and Rin do not want people thinking the two of them have to be together always. They’re still separate people.]

[She knew he'd said something similar earlier about not needing to be right at Rin's side at all times, but it was for a different reason this time so she just smiles and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear while she's considering how to better phrase it.]

That's okay. I just wanted to look for him while I was looking for Roxas too. I'm supposed to meet up with him soon.

[She still claps when his dart hits the mark, though.]

That's a really good way of training! I'm just trying to build up some stamina right now, I think.

[She's... mostly been left to her own devices where 'training' is concerned these days. Soon enough it'll change, but for now running laps is good enough.]

[Sousuke picks up the third dart and eyes the board where his previous two remain embedded into the cork. He has a good collection of points, but then again, he’s not really looked at the prizes yet so it’s a moot point. Giving the dart a few turns between his fingers, Sousuke glances to the side at his companion.]

I see. Who knows; they might have met each other.

[Slim chance to none, but there’s no telling in this place. He silently appreciates her compliment and eyes the board once again. Of course he’ll aim for the center and take what comes of it.]

Stamina for what?

[There’s strength endurance, pain endurance, and as far as shinki go, borderline endurance. He’s not sure he wants to tell her his and Rin’s prime targets are each other…]

Uhhh... all kinds, honestly?

[She shrugs her shoulders a bit.]

I don't know how else to do it without Roxas and I going on prayers together - [Which they hadn't done yet.] but just... stamina for dealing with all of this stuff.

[She holds her arm with her free hand then.]

I'm not afraid of being in a fight and trying to help him. I'm just afraid of getting worn out too fast.

[Since combat doesn't seem like it was a 'natural' part of her life before.]

011 | Black Parade

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Wrap or move to a non-captcha thread?

Assuming they'll be talking further about mundane things, wrapping is fine.