( open ) well, there weren't any treasure chests

[minogame]

Who: Urashima and you
What: Urashima being the best he can be at everything he can try
When: 24, 25, 27 May so we can be a little flexible with dates!
Where: Various places in the Near Shore, Hachiman's Temple, and generally around the Far Shore.
Summary: Most options are open! There's one closed one and one semi-open one.


1. I'll Pay You In Experience (Various, The Near Shore)

( Summer jobs are all the rage but it's hard to get a job when you don't have a ~resume~ or work experience. Urashima, unfortunately, has neither of these and he's learned the hard way that it's harder to get work experience than you might think… Uwah, how is he supposed to get experience if no one will give him a chance!?

But with persistence and pure genki, he's managed to get a job!!!

... Which means he hasn't really found a job at all. He's just helping out the average person in the Far Shore, running errands and doing small favors for those who can use the extra help. You can find Urashima doing a few things,

A. In a neighborhood garden, tying string to some wooden stakes to help support the plants.
B. Running around the city carrying a small shopping bag of items and a piece of paper with an address written in shaky letters
C. At a local temple, standing in front of all sorts of charms that are for sale. He isn't really helping here but something's definitely caught his attention. )

2. Take this! (Hachiman's Temple, The Far Shore) (Semi-Open to people who would be around Hachiman's temple)

( He's a cinnamon roll. An absolutely squishy cinnamon roll so it's a wonder why this kid is suddenly up and center in the middle of the practice hall, a wooden sword in hand, and holding his hands in front of him in a pleading gesture, )

Please, go easy on me!

( P L E A S E )

3. That hurt, you know (Various, The Far Shore)

( It's been a long day and he's on his way home back! He's probably carrying a few odd things from his day in the Near Shore. Look at his "pay" for the day! Random snacks, some seasonal drinks, half a daikon, wrapped in newspaper, a bag of cherries, and an old coin purse, a little worn and clearly used.... but it's really cute and shaped like a fish!

He's also got a few fresh new bruises on his arms but that's not important. At least, he doesn't appear to mind. )

4. Akihabara (Closed to Roxas)

( They've been talking about it for awhile but finally, Roxas and Urashima have a chance to go to Akihabara together. Urashima follows closely behind him, not wanting to get separated in the crowds. Honestly, the entire district is a little overwhelming but not in a bad way! His eyes are as bright as the signs and lights as he stops to look a sign advertising a new cafe that will be opening up soon. )

Uwah... do you come here a lot?!

5. Wildcard

( COME AT ME )

Comments

4!!!!

[missingache]

[Roxas finds it adorable how excited Urashima was to be here. It certainly was a lot to take in for a first timer, and he remembers just how excited he had been the first time stepping into this district. He stops beside Urashima and nods.]

Yeah. When I can. It's one of my favorite places. Especially the cafes!

[minogame]

( This place is clearly what the Dragon King's Palace looks like... but maybe with a little less gold. )

Which one? ( They must have seen like... fifteen. ) The one with the kitten? Or maybe... the one with all the men in glasses?

( Or maybe the gudetama one... or one of the 5 Sanrio ones... Or.... )

[missingache]

[He takes Urashima's hand and leads him down a less crowded street to a nice little French themed maid cafe.]

This one! They've got really, really good food here. I brought Sora here once, and he liked it a lot!

[minogame]

( You mean Roxas' favorite cafe isn't the sword spirit cafe...

But he's following Roxas, letting himself be pulled down and still taking in all of sights. Everyone looks so cute in the posters and signs. Color Urashima just a little struck. He's just a boy at heart, okay!!! )

And they work here?

( Why are they so cute... why!!! )

[missingache]

[If there was one he'd like it a lot.]

Yeah! They're really nice, too. But I think Sora got a little jealous last time because they kept trying to get my attention.

[Once they are seated, Roxas looks at the menu.]

If you like cake, there's a lot of good ones.

[minogame]

( There's a curious tilt of the head at that. Jealous? Why would Sora be jealous if they were just doing their jobs? Urashima is just a naive and simple spirit...

But he's looking over the menu, obviously impressed by the pictures and points to one almost immediately-- a strawberry chiffon cake. )

This one looks nice.

( And though he doesn't outwardly ask because he's also an easy and humble spirit, he's also a kid and his expression betrays exactly what he's thinking. "Please?" )

[missingache]

[Because they apparently were on a date even if Roxas didn't realize it at the time. It was a nice day regardless.

He nods.]

It's really good! What kind of drink do you want with it?

[He himself will get a parfait because the ones here are made with cake in their layers.]

2...

[okitactless]

[Oh Urashima, so pure and precious. And just aerodynamic enough to make a lovely hole in the wall if you get sent flying through it.]

Why do you think we're using these?

[Yes... to Yamato, "going easy" means using practice swords instead of real ones... okay, not really, but that's about as far as he's willing to go, so. SORRY URASHIMA prepare for bruises.

Especially because Yamato isn't even going to give him warning, and dives in with a wide swing immediately. THINK FAST, TURTLE BOY]

[minogame]

( Because Urashima doesn't have a real sword?! But before Urashima can answer, there's a sword coming at him hard and fast. There's a look on his face like he clearly wasn't expecting to get a crash course in swordsmanship and he jumps back, sword in front of him defensively to catch it.

It's harder than he expected and he can feel his arms give way. Really, he almost drops the sword completely but just barely manages to keep it together. )

Ah!

( It takes him a half second to recover, readjusting his grip. )

W-wait...! ( AAAAH ) I wasn't ready...!

[okitactless]

But I am!

[Yamato doesn't even sound out of breath as he talks and swings at the same time, this time with a series of quick, forward thrusts.]

An ayakashi isn't going to wait for you, so you need to be ready all-- [stab] the-- [stab] time. [stabbity stab keep up!!]

[minogame]

( What the hell, Yamato... There's no time to think which probably helps in his case because right now, his body is kicking into autopilot, catching and blocking the best he can. It isn't perfect-- he's left one side completely open and he seems to be losing more ground than anything but he's not too shabby, )

I'm-- ( Block ) --trying! ( Block, block, )

Wait a sec-- ( Block, and whack, whack. ) Ow, ow, ow!

[okitactless]

[Someone save this poor child from this maniac... Yamato seems perfectly happy to keep this up all day, cheerfully batting Urashima into a corner.]

Is that what you'll say to someone trying to kill you? [Urashima doesn't seem so much of a beginner, Yamato thinks, that he needs to stick with easy-to-read attacks and strikes at obviously open points. He's not exactly Souji or Hakkai, but he's holding his own well enough, no matter what he's saying. Indeed, it's mostly his attitude that seems to be holding him back.

So Yamato feints for his open side before immediately switching to an upward swing, one that would easily break Urashima's elbow if Yamato had a little less control. (Or had he been just a little deeper into the sword zone.)] You're not going to give up and die that quickly, are you?

[minogame]

I thought this was practice!

( Who's trying to kill him? Yamato?! He'd believe it right now but he doesn't say as much, focusing on trying to keep himself from being knocked onto the floor because he has a feeling that's going to hurt. He's starting to get into the rhythm of things, finding himself just enough to try to hold his ground-- Yamato's too hard and fast for him to feasibly take any back right now.

He catches the feint and he moves to respond but before he can even get that far, Yamato's changed his attack and Urashima does what he can to protect himself from getting hurt anymore. He's gone one handed, letting go of his sword with one hand to turn away on his side. Not exactly good form but wakizashi spirit is going to wakizashi and if that means going one handed like he's used to doing even if it's the wrong type of sword he'll do it.

And it's then that he makes his first attempt at an actual attack, trying to turn his weight on his heel to collect himself again, crouching down, and moving for a straightforward thrust at Yamato's lower side. )

1-C

[fizzipocus]

[Charms... Maybe these were a little like Tsuzuki’s spells. If nothing else, she was sure that these weren’t like her own crests. Maybe. Memory loss made determining that for sure pretty difficult. They did look different, though.

Sooner or later, she noticed Urashima looking intently at the charms just as she had been, and that left her wondering.]

What’s that one for?

[minogame]

(He's always surprised when people approach him first in the Near Shore but its the pleasant sort of surprise and he gives her an easy smile,)

Hm? (He turns to see which one in particular she's looking at and points up at a red one,) This one is good luck.

[fizzipocus]

[Good luck, huh? Lilka frowned slightly. Maybe she was underestimating what the charm could do? It was hard to say without trying it out.]

I wonder if it would even help if I got one...

[minogame]

Hm? ( Oh, no, why does she sound so disappointed?! ) Are you having bad luck?

[fizzipocus]

Huh? [Oh. She just said that out loud, didn't she. Well, this is embarrassing.]

I-it's not like that! I was just wondering if there were some things that good luck wouldn't help with...

[minogame]

I don't know. ( He doesn't make charms! He just believes in them. ) But it doesn't hurt to try, right?

( And he'll reach out to take one from the basket and hold it up for her to see. There are a bunch of different colors and they're small and not very expensive, )

If it doesn't, you don't have to come again. But if it works, you can come get more and there are a bunch of other ones too.

2 haha his life is pain

[spes_phthisica]

Ah?

[Souji tilts his head a bit in surprise, and then looks at his practice sword as if considering it for a moment or two. Then he laughs, shaking his head.]

I'm sorry, I don't think I know how to do that.

[...Well, at least he's being honest? Souji smiles beatifically, shrugging.]

If you want that, you'll have to practice with someone else. But I'm the one who's here, right? [No mercy, apparently.]

his life was too good to last

[minogame]

( Don't "Ah?" him...

Souji can probably see Urashima's expression drop, turning into something more like a pout because someone doesn't realize exactly what he's gotten into. Ugh, what do you mean you won't go easy on him? No fair! )

Aw!

( But then there's something like a huff before he shifts back into a proper, ready position. Clearly, Souji is joking with him. Especially with a smile like that )

Then... I'll do my best! ( And see exactly how easy or how hard Souji is on him... ) Let's go!

( And Urashima makes the first move, going for a side strike. His technique isn't awful-- even if this is more or less one of his first times, there's definitely signs that he knows what he's doing... he's just a little rough around the edges. He's a natural, really! Just not at the uchigatana, oops. )

goodnight sweet turtle prince

[spes_phthisica]

That's the spirit!

[Souji just assumes that Urashima has resigned himself to his fate taken up the challenge, and immediately sinks into a defensive stance.

The boy moves really well, without much polish but with a definite sense of purpose and little energy wasted, from what Souji can see. If he'd only relied a bit more on the range of his sword, there would've been very few openings in his stance, and it would've been quite hard to do more than just block. As it is, Souji deflects the blow instead and steps to the side, aiming an admonishing whack in the direction of his ribs.]

Sword closer to your body, please.

a turtle on the back of his shell...

[minogame]

Hey! ( He jumps away when he's hit, one hand reaching for his side and looking up at Souji with the most why look ever. And there it goes, some of that Kotetsu salt and he mutters to himself, ) You could have just said so...

( You didn't have to hit him!!! But he'll fix himself just like he's told, holding the stance and glancing at Okita-senpai. )

Like this?

waving his short legs in the air

[spes_phthisica]

Mm, but a good teacher should show what he means, right?

[Said with the same kind smile, because he's apparently 100% serious about this. And since he did warn Urashima, clearly the boy is prepared for this, right?

He nods in approval at the stance. Better. Though there is one little thing...

Which is to say that Souji suddenly attacks instead, aiming a swift blow from above toward his left elbow.]

You're not getting lazy with this side, huh? [Look, he doesn't know that Urashima literally was created to handle a one-handed weapon.]

wearing himself out someone set him right

[minogame]

( WHY DOESN'T SOUJI KNOW? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE!?

The last thing he expects is a surprise attack and he's definitely slow to react. Of course he gets hit and he let's out a loud yelp as, again, he flinches and jumps away, but he's no turtle that's going to let himself get beat up. He may have been too slow to deflect the strike but he swings his sword right back at Souji without any sort of hesitation-- a wide, horizontal one, perhaps a little too wide, but definitely a retaliation. )

-- I wasn't ready!