[open] If I could store lightning in jars

[oathkeeper]

Who: Sora & OPEN
Where: The mysterious dark forest that appeared!
When: June 1
What: Bright "fireflies” have been luring gods and shinki alike deep into the forest. People are suddenly drawn to the little spots of light and can’t help but follow. There have been reports of screams and unhappy spirits and people never returning. All you know is that the sun doesn’t pierce the treetops and it’s dark.
Warnings: There's lots of creepy demons and stuff!!


[ A ]

[A sudden cold and heavy rain starts. Light and whimsical at first before it starts to pour down in thick sheets. Gray clouds blanket the sky and the sun is nearly blotted out. The atmosphere suddenly darkens and a chill is in the air.

Through the dark Sora notices some sparks of light somewhere near. They’re like candles flickering and dancing through the haze of the rain. A small smile pulls at his lips as he’s suddenly drawn to them like a moth to a flame. All he wants to do is reach out and touch one. They look like fairies.

You might notice Sora wandering through the rain, a blurry image of him slowly walking just out of your reach. Then he vanishes into the dark forest.]

[ B ]

[Perhaps it is you that got drawn into the bright dancing lights. Pulled into the woods as it makes your heart hammer. All you can focus on is the unseen force pulling your legs as you wander closer to the woods.

And suddenly everything is dark.

Sora manages to catch a glimpse of you before you vanish and he calls out.]

Hey!! Wait!! Don’t go in there!

[And promptly chases after you to stop you from falling deeper into darkness.]

[ C ]

[As soon as Sora enters the woods the rain stops. Or so it seems that way. He can still hear the thundering water in his ears but it sounds muted now. Like someone has put a blanket over the heavens and all he can hear is the thin thudding of the rain but no raindrops touch his face anymore.

He wanders through the woods as he looks up at the treetops to find that small beams of light do flicker through. Weakly, but they’re there. The gloom is still heavy.

His feet take him in a random direction until he spots a figure in the distance… Someone already lost here like him, or is that a tortured spirit...?]

[ wildcard! ]

[something else in mind?]

Comments

[countingthecost]

[It'd be pretty hard for Sannan to miss the sudden realization flashing across Sora's face. But the kid's quick to move on and the moment to ask about it passes, at least for the time being. Anyway, their priorities should be to find a way out. Yamanami follows Sora's gaze, trees and darkness beckoning towards them. It's quite foreboding.]

Actually, I may be able to help with that. I was given the power to "see" the quickest solution to any prayer directed to me. [Tik. Tak. His fingers begin to run across his abacus, the beads beginning to click and rattle against each other.] I apologize if this sounds presumptuous, but if you pray to me for guidance then I should be able to help us find our way out.

[oathkeeper]

Wow! That's really handy, Sannan!

[He's never seen a power like that before. It almost falls along the lines of other cheat-y powers like his, which is the power to dispel locks, magic and barriers. But this kind of power is just what they need to perhaps find the way out. Sora has no problem with helping out with that.

He's never exactly prayed to another god before, he's never had the need to. But he's seen his followers do that for him countless times so Sora clasps his hands together and looks up at Sannan.]

What's your god name? I'll do my best.

[countingthecost]

[...gods. It's just been a few lines of conversation and already he's being reminded of those left behind. Sora's good cheer, enthusiasm and friendliness all ring with the echo of the past, and the spiky hair completes the image of the past that flashes before his eyes: a youth of fifteen, a page with a kind heart and a well of good spirit.

He might have just spaced out a little there. But Sora's waiting on a name, and Sannan quickly offers it up to him.]

Guan Yu. He's actually worshipped as a god of war, brotherhood and commerce so I'm not too sure how I ended up with this particular ability. But I won't complain; it's certainly useful.

[And with that, Yamanami places one hand on Sora's shoulder, explaining:] I need some physical contact with you to share the vision. But the experience is harmless, and should be over quickly.

Whenever you're ready, Sora-kun.

[And the moment Sora utters his prayer, he'll immediately see images flashing before him, clearly detailing the easiest way for them to make their escape. But Yamanami bears some concern on this gift of his: it's true that his visions always show the quickest way to grant a prayer. But he's seen visions of people sabotaging their co-workers to earn that treasured promotion to pay the bills; he's seen visions of students cheating on tests to get score in their entrance exams.

Sora's prayer is a simple one, so hopefully the way forward will not require any such moral dilemmas.]

[oathkeeper]

[At the hand on his shoulder Sora looks up at Sannan and smiles warmly. There's a certain demeanor the man has. Sora feels he can trust him easily. There's a certain kindness and gentleness to him but also intuitive intelligence.]

Guan Yu. [Sora closes his eyes and starts praying. He can feel his energy and prayer spread just as it does when he sees humans do it. A wish born from the heart that travels to a god.

And the vision will be seen as a flash of trees. The path shown as a zigzag maze that has them going in circles first but soon seeing the light at the edge of the forest. But before the path clears to light there would be a face in the distance. A blank face of a demon that would demand a secret be told as payment to leave.

Sora finishes, opening his eyes.] Did I do okay?

[countingthecost]

[Yamanami blinks, needing a moment to process the vision. They've truly stumbled and gotten themselves stuck in a labyrinth, haven't they? And the demon's toll at the end...Yamanami brought many secrets with him to the grave, its fitting they've all followed him to Heaven. Which one the demon will pick as his payment is a troubling thought.

But that's a matter for later, not now. Sora's voice brings him back to the present, and he quickly removes his hand from the other's shoulder.]

Good job. Thanks to your faith, we've got our path out. [After a quick smile that didn't match the look in his eyes, Sannan looks up to the direction they need to walk. The trees loom over the two threateningly, yet the spaces in between seem to be beckoning towards them.

Whatever it is that will meet them at the end of this path, he'll face it. He needs to help Sora out of here.]

We better get a move on. You're quite soaked through, Sora-kun! If we don't hurry you'll get sick.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora blinks and watches Sannan before he nods. He reaches out to touch his arm gently and pats.]

I'll be okay. We'll get out of here together. We'll be home before dinner!

[He smiles at Sannan, giving him a reassured expression. It's not only Sora that needs help getting out of here, but Sannan too. Whatever it is that Sannan saw, good or bad, Sora would protect him as well. No matter what.]

Lead the way, I'm right with you.

[countingthecost]

[And off they go. Instead of following the trail, Yamanami leads Sora through the thickest, densest stretch of trees.]

The path goes about in circles. It almost feels like this forest is deliberately trying to fool us.

At the end of the path, there's...someone. Or something. That person will demand a secret to let us leave the forest.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora looks curious and then a little worried. He follows close, looking behind him over his shoulder periodically just in case something is following.]

A secret? Well that should be easy enough!

[Sora doesn't have a lot of secrets. He's not sure what he could share.]

I guess we can be glad we don't have to fight any ugly beasties.

[countingthecost]

[Thankfully, nothing seems to be tracking them from the back. Sannan's special god skill is really tailored to the prayer given to him: if it's to escape safely, then that's what his sight will reveal to him.

Still, no sense in being careless. Sannan is careful to stay close to Sora.]

That's certainly the bright spot in all this. Without my shinki, I'm afraid I'm useless against ayakashi. [From the way he speaks of himself, Yamanami doesn't seem to have any fighting capabilities.]

[oathkeeper]

[True to Sannan's vision the trees are quiet. It's almost serene and calm how little disturbed everything is. But also like everything is a still picture and unchanging.

He nods, with no shinki between the two of them they would be sitting ducks against an ayakashi. Rending one, anyway.] I'd be able to beat one back and buy us some time to run, don't worry.

[He grins and then falls into step with Sannan, looking a little more at ease.]

By the way, Sannan. Can I ask you something?

[countingthecost]

I'll have to rely on you then. Sorry, Sora-kun.

[He gives an embarrassed smile, the only bit of internal anguish at being so useless that he'll express.]

Sure. What is it?

[oathkeeper]

[Sora wouldn't call it useless. There's no shame in not being able to physically fight. There are other types of strengths and they're not all the same. If Sannan had said his thoughts out loud Sora would have told him that because of his strength he found them a way out.]

Do you know a god named Hijikata?

[countingthecost]

[...what a coincidence. Yamanami's smile falters slightly, but he keeps one plastered on, trying to keep the tone of the conversation as casual as he could.]

You mean Hijikata Toshizou? Yes, I do know him. We were comrades, once, but we had our differences and went our separate ways.

How do you know him?

[oathkeeper]

[Sora pouts slightly, as it confirms some of the things Hijikata said too.]

He's a really good friend of mine. We've helped each other out a few times. That, and he knows Yumi.

[His smile is back, as he talks about Hijikata with obvious affection for the man in his tone.]

Comrades, once though? Are you two fighting?

[countingthecost]

[Well, it's good that Hijikata has found himself such a cheerful friend. Someone to help him, where Yamanami has failed.]

No, we're not fighting. We just had a serious disagreement about something important. Because he and I couldn't agree on what was to be done, I decided to leave.

[The PG-13 summary on Shinsengumi detection. Sannan wonders how much of their history did Hijikata share with this child. It's certainly going to make this journey out of the forest much more difficult if Sora wants to play 20 questions on the sad relationship between the two vice commanders.]

But please don't worry about us old men, Sora-kun. We've put the past behind us.

[oathkeeper]

[He gives Sannan a warm smile. He knows it's not polite to pry into places he shouldn't be. So he wouldn't push. But that won't stop Sora from casually name-dropping Hijikata and very casually talk about how pretty neat and cool he is.

He knows they're old friends. He knows that something went really bad between them. He knows he saw Hijikata in near tears and full of regret.]

The best thing friends can do is put the past behind them. Try and make second chances, especially for people who are worth it.

[He tucks his arms behind his head. People make mistakes. Mistakes are made to be forgiven. (says the little god of forgiveness.)]

Hijikata is a really great friend. I hope you guys can settle your differences sometime. I think you're really great too.

[The forest is still silent. Everything looks the same to Sora. But he trust Sannan is taking them in the right direction.]

[countingthecost]

I hope so too. [But honestly, Sannan doubts that. The topic of Yamanami's desertion and why he did it was always going to be there, even if he and Hijikata buried the hatchet between them. The guilt in both men was strong...perhaps too strong.

Their relationship is never going to be the same.

...it sounds like it's time for a topic change.]

So how long have you known Hijikata-kun? How did you meet him?

[oathkeeper]

[A topic change may be for the best. Sora might go on forever about friendship. He doesn't always realize things have to take time and relationships aren't always easy.]

Umm, we showed up here around the same time. So, four months? Doesn't seem like a long time but it feels like longer. We were teamed up to clean out some old temple rooms and this weird wooden sandal spirit attacked us and we had to chase it down. It was pretty funny.

[Sora chuckles at the memory. What a strange spirit.]

[countingthecost]

Time certainly flows strangely in the Heavens.

[The mental image that Sora's giving him does paint an interesting and entertaining picture.] It certainly sounds quite the spectacle! How did you two manage to solve that issue?

[oathkeeper]

[Sora taps his cheek, recalling the entire scenario.]

I've got a spell called Magnet that draws things against my weapon if I need to. That's how we managed to grab them in the end.

[Just as they're walking the trees start getting thinner. Soon more light is fluttering from the treetops. They must be reaching the end soon.

A cold air blows by before they feel eyes watching them.]

[countingthecost]

That spell certainly sounds very useful, especially if you're looking for a lost item. What-...

[His voice fades off when he senses that additional presence watching them. Yamanami looks around, trying to find the source of those eyes.]

...Sora-kun, please be careful. Someone's watching us.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora glances behind them but he feels the eyes somehow on them too.

He summons his keyblade and it blinks into his hand.]

Whatever it is... We stick together.

[But then there's a flutter of laughter on the air. Somehow sounding both male and female. Then a long black figure weaves through the trees.]

"Ahhh... Two gods walking through the woods. One can find solutions one can break locks... How interesting... I wonder what other powers you both have..."

[countingthecost]

[Sannan only manages to get a nod in before that eerie giggle punctuates the heavy silence. Yamanami tenses, but keeps his calm. They just need to be truthful to each question. Then they'll be out.]

I don't have any other powers.

[oathkeeper]

[The dark creature giggles again and weaves upwards into the treetops. But the voice sounds like it's close in their ears.]

"Is that so...? Have you other things to share with me? And you too.... god-child."

[Sora stiffens and keeps his gaze locked upwards, trying to find the figure.]

I have magic.

"Tell me something, young ones. Something your heart keeps locked up tight. So tightly that magic weapon of yours could never unlock."

[countingthecost]

[...it's like the universe really has it out for him, huh? But regardless of how he feels about the matter, Sora's well-being counted on him telling the truth. Sannan takes a deep breath to keep his composure and calm.]

That's quite a vague description. You'll have to be more specific on what sort of secrets you'd want to pry out of us.