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Who: Cho Hakkai, Guy Cecil, Kozukata Yuri
What: Settling into a new household as a shinki means talks with the current residents... and with the people who sneak into the place at midnight, for that matter, too.
When: May 30 & June 1
Where: The temple of Mahakala
Warnings: TBD. Hakkai and Guy's conversation is probably going to stay fairly G-rated, though.

[smile like nothing has changed -- hakkai & guy, may 30th, evening]

[Hakkai's trying very hard not to develop a new nervous habit of rubbing his throat where the name rests. It doesn't itch; the skin isn't raised or irritated, like it would be for a real tattoo. There's no way to feel it there at all, but knowing it's there makes his skin prickle nonetheless.

It's probably just because he knows that other people can see it. He's never been fond of that.

And it's past time for him to make his introductions, even if he's spent most of the day working with Asshole on the abandoned temple he's repurposed into a school. He's back, now, padding down the hallway of Ukoku's temple to knock lightly on the door of Guy's room.

He steps back, and crosses his arms before he can raise one hand to rub his throat.]

Excuse me! Guy, are you there?

[whose room are you going to for coffee? -- hakkai & yuri, june 1, around midnight]

[He should be asleep, considering when he woke up. He's not; he's tired, with a day's hard work and years' worth of memories weighting down his bones, but it can't overcome the itchy restlessness that keeps him moving. Reading doesn't really alleviate it, either. In desperation, at last, he's headed for the kitchen, and is scrubbing the counters clean of every speck of debris. The light from the single swinging bulb overhead is dim and yellow, and he's sure in the light of day it'll have to be redone.

Anything, at this point, is better than lying down and letting himself think.]

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[It had been chance that they'd managed to miss one another. Guy had slept in and woke up after Hakkai had left the temple, and had gone pretty much straight to his room after returning, barring a quick trip to the kitchen for a snack. He didn't even know Hakkai was staying there.

Thus, he starts to get up from his futon when he hears a knock, hesitating at the voice that's sefinitely not Yuri's, and while male, it's also not Ni's. It's not unfamiliar, though, but he can't place it.]

I'm here...

[May as well get up; his room isn't really set up for entertaining. He's wearing striped pajamas and a t-shirt with something nonsensical in English printed on it, a result of 100 yen store finds rather than, say, taking after Ukoku, hopefully Hakkai won't judge.]

Who's ask--oh! Hi! Haven't seen you in a while...what's up?

Edited 2017-01-05 05:36 (UTC)

[Hakkai bows politely to him, and clears his throat, a little embarrassed, as he straightens up. It's strange to have a senior shinki. Yes, technically, Asshole had been Gojyo's first shinki, but he'd never had the capacity to exert much authority; and Sanzo hadn't been very interested in being an exemplar for any of his gods.

Hakkai can't help thinking of this place as Guy's household, though, and here he is without having spoken to the man more than casually. No time like the present to start, he supposes.]

Hello. Ah -- as a matter of fact, I wanted to let you know that I've asked Ni to take me on as a shinki.

[There's something about pajama pants and a T-shirt with a phrase Hakkai's fairly sure makes no sense that really spoils the formality of the discussion.

Formal doesn't seem to be the way anything around Mahakala's temple works, though.]

[It's strange to be a senior shinki to anyone. Technically, he's senior to Genjo, but he's never even met the man in real life and doesn't even know he's one of Ni's shinki. So he's more than a little surprised at the bow, especially since it's Hakkai.]

You...did? That's...sort of a surprise.

[The red mark on Hakkai's throat catches his eye--did he have that before, or is that the name Ukoku's given him? It isn't one he knows the meaning of, though.]

I didn't think he'd want to take on more shinki, he's not really interested in doing the kind of things shinki are supposed to be used for.

No, he doesn't seem to be, but he was kind enough to indulge me.

I'd like to help out around the household, of course, if you don't mind. I cook.

[The character inscribed across his throat is unquestionably new.

He's not sure how he'll answer if Guy asks why he chose Ni; perhaps just that the god made a good impression on him over their chess game. That's likely the information least likely to come as a surprise, or suggest anything about the investigations into the gods' disappearances that Ni would rather his senior shinki not hear of.

Hakkai smiles, mustering a sincere air with an effort.]

He wasn't very interested in assigning me any duties, so I thought we might want to talk it over!

I don't mind. I'm not used to there being anyone around besides me and Ni, but I think it'll work out.

[He has to think about what exactly entails 'chores' around the place. Cooking, sure, but it doesn't require a lot of upkeep, fortunately. Aside from the lighting.]

Cooking is great. Please see if you can figure out what Ni likes, he turns down everything I offer to make. The lighting is horrible, anything electric outside of the kitchen tends to short out, and that light isn't very reliable either. Keeping the place clean is the only real chore...

[Delegating tasks when there aren't really any to delegate is difficult.]

Perhaps we should switch to lanterns....

[The flickering bulbs really are a pain, and if the electricity is that unreliable, it's easier to buy a few oil lamps than rewire the whole temple.

Although. Hakkai suggests, curiously:]

... Do you have any idea why everything outside the kitchen shorts out?

[Maybe a rewiring project would be a good way to occupy him. He'd mentioned enjoying machines, when they'd spoken at Gojyo's temple. And if Hakkai's willing to help keep the place clean and cook, and Ni doesn't want his senior shinki getting wind of any of the information he's trying to dig up about the Heavens....]

Thought about it.

[He moves to the side slightly, indicating the lantern hanging on a pole in one corner of the room. There's a second lantern on the floor by the futon, possibly hidden by a stack of library books from Hakkai's point of view.]

No. The wiring should be good, I've redone it once already. [Admittedly he doesn't have the proper tools and isn't really not an electrician, but that's what the internet is for. Only one thing's blown up so far.]

Oh, so you have! [And with all the books he can see stacked next to the futon, it's no wonder that Guy'd wanted more reliable light in his room. What a good idea; Hakkai'll have to scrounge up a few more. At least for the corridors, to avoid stumbling into anything in the dark.

Youkai night vision isn't magic, and anyway, he's a bit nearsighted.]

That's a shame. It must be something about the temple, then...

[He trails off, wondering again what exactly Ni is keeping in his greenhouse, and whether it's causing power surges. He'd pulled out that box of mysterious electrical components in the kitchen, after all.]

... Well, lanterns will do, I suppose.

[He smiles, a little wryly, looking back from the lantern to meet Guy's eyes. It's awkward, too, to already be in the position of keeping things from Ni's lead shinki. Guy is probably better off this way, at least.]

I hope we'll be able to work well together.

[It would be awesome if Hakkai could get ahold of some lanterns. Actual lanterns, not ones that require electricity to operate. Seems that the ones that burn anything are mostly decorative, or Guy's not looking in the right places.]

Most likely. Something about the area might disrupt the electric energy inside...or perhaps the whole temple dislikes my presence and attempts to make it more livable! And I think we will, you seem easy enough to get along with.

[He smiles back, a little awkwardly, for entirely different reasons. He's not a mind reader, he doesn't know what Hakkai and Ni have talked about.]

By the way, I apologize for not being properly dressed for guests.

Oh, no, I apologize for coming by to speak with you with no warning! I've been spending a lot of time clearing out an abandoned temple to hold classes in, and I just finished up there, so...

[Hakkai's laugh is a little stilted. He puts a hand on the back of his neck, ducking his head in polite apology.]

... I may continue that, if Ni doesn't ask for too much from us as shinki. There's always something to do, I suppose.

He doesn't, really. I've been helping him out with a project, but that's about it.

[Ah yes, the prison-looking school]

Oh, right! The one you put up pictures of. You said you teach math, right?

[That's what he thinks Hakkai mentioned when they were poking around the other abandoned temple. Which he himself has been clearing out. For what...he'll figure out when he's a little further along.]

Yes, that's right, mostly. I'm tutoring a few other subjects as well -- there are some shinki who are a little shaky on writing, or computer use.

[Hakkai raises his eyebrows, curious.]

What project? If I may ask.

File sorting. I'm supposed to be looking for similarities among them and cataloging them based on that.

[For what purpose, he's not sure. Ni is very vague about that.]

It's not really that exciting, unfortunately. I feel a little like a secretary.

[Not that he's angry about that; it's actually fun to use the computer, just boring to use it to sort things.]

Depending on the similarities you find, it could be exciting! ... but outside of any surprises that would get old fast, wouldn't it?

[It sounds a little like busywork, in fact. Hakkai lets his tone go sympathetic, a smile tugging slightly at the corner of his lips.]

Well, I suppose at least if he doesn't make too many demands on us, we at least have time to pursue our own interests.

That's about it.

We should...like I mentioned earlier, he's not too interested in taking down ayakashi...or you might end up doing that, I suppose, depending on what your form is.

[He glances at the character on Hakkai's throat again, briefly.]

If he's changed his mind...

Edited 2017-01-08 18:26 (UTC)

I'm a monk's staff. [Hakkai spreads his hands in a tiny shrug, accompanied by an equally small smile.] It's not the best offensive weapon, but I suppose it'd do in a pinch.

[It's not a sword, or the spade he'd been the last time around. He suspects he can do more damage in this form than he could as a weapon, if it weren't that he can't touch ayakashi without injuring himself, of course.]

-- And you?

Me?

[Congratulations, Hakkai, you're officially the first person who's ever asked him that question. And probably the only one who'll find out the answer.]

I...well, it's a lot less useful than a staff, that's for sure. I'm uh...a kimono. Of some sort.

You must have some other sort of power, then.

[Hakkai sounds mildly interested: he's been weapons, so far, for each of his gods. Perhaps it's something about the shinki's personality.

He hasn't seen Guy in a fight, but the man seems mild-mannered, or at least willing to accept matters as they are. Perhaps he's a shield of some kind?]

I'm not sure what power I have in this form yet. Actually, I didn't have enough of a chance to practice with my last one to find that out, either....

If I do, I haven't had a chance to see what it is.

[He hopes so. Then again, being clothes is still sort of an awkward thing to deal with, and a large part of him would like to not have to deal with that too frequently.]

Was your last god not the fighting type? Or were you just not with them very long?

[The emotion drains abruptly from Hakkai's face, leaving it too blank for a few seconds as he looks at Guy.]

It wasn't very long.

[He coughs politely into one hand, and looks back up with the mild interest pinned back over his features.]

And various things got in the way. In any case, it seems I'm not likely to learn here, either.

[That was a quick transition. Is this a common quirk of Hakkai's, he hasn't seen it happen that much.]

Ah, sorry if I asked something I shouldn't have...

[He remembers Hakkai mentioning his last god was Dionysus. Or at least that was his god last time Guy asked. He never did manage to meet said god, unfortunately.]

Wish I could say differently, but you might be right. Speaking of...I'm not sure what else you need to know.

[He rubs the back of his neck, looking up at the top of the doorframe as he thinks.]

There's a motorcycle you can use if you need to run errands in the city and don't want to walk everywhere. The only shrine to Mahakala we know of is at the edge of the city, away from everything...

... No, that's all right.

[It's still hard to look casual when talking about Gojyo, when all he can think of is his soul trapped and screaming like Elsa's. Are they all dead? Or are they just borrowed from the place they should be? And how can he possibly find and free those souls if there's no hint of who's responsible....

This is why he's here, working with Ni, he reminds himself, and moves briskly on, schooling his expression back into calm.]

Ah, the motorcycle sounds useful, but I do have a vehicle too! With a little more storage capacity, so please, let me know if you need to pick up anything that won't fit on the motorcycle.

I'll have to take a look at the shrine.

If you say so.

[At the mention of another vehicle, he perks up a bit--though he's trying not to give off too many 'can I take it apart?' vibes. Sure, he's seen (and nearly gotten hit by) cars and buses down on the Near Shore, but he hasn't really gotten to examine one of them up close.]

Oh? What kind of vehicle?

A dragon who turns into a Jeep.

[Guy brightened up a little too fast just now. Hakkai hopes the fact that his vehicle happens to be a living one will discourage any images of disassembled engines dancing in his head.]

A dragon..

[Oh, that's right, Hakkai has a dragon. He's small, though, and it's hard to imagine him transforming into a vehicle larger than a motorcycle.]

The small white one you introduced me to, right? I didn't know he transformed into anything.

[But that does kind of deter any disassembly ideas. Maybe Jeep would let him at least look under his hood while he's in car form.]

Yes, that's right! You did meet him when you dropped by Gojyo's temple, didn't you?

[Hakkai smiles. Hopefully, knowing that Jeep is alive will discourage any attempts to poke at his innards with a wrench.]

I've asked him not to transform inside. It crowds the room.

[Gojyo? Oh right, Sha Gojyo, the other name of Dionysus.]

I imagine! And he might get stuck as well.

[Being a living thing is helping reduce the urge to poke at him--but now Guy's just determined to see the dragon transform.]

Yes... although if that happened, he could always transform back.

Which wouldn't unbreak any furniture, unfortunately.

[Or crockery, or glass that had happened to be too close to a sudden appearing car. Guy looks eager. Hakkai considers his expression for a moment.]

I could ask him to show you tomorrow, if you'd like to drop by the abandoned temple.

[after her latest little adventure with Hakkai, there's at least one person she can think of to inform about her findings. It's not like she has anyone else to really discuss these things with (Neji, of course, will be informed, but that probably goes without saying).

She doesn't announce herself-- she never does, never has to. If he's home, he'll greet her someway, and if he's not... She's sure he somehow knows she's been by anyhow.

There's nothing that strikes her very out of the ordinary when she teleports into the entrance-way of the temple. The sounds from the kitchen just make her idly think Ukoku is doing something ridiculous in there that's going to make her mildly regret coming in the first place, but she's resigned herself to that by now. So she strides into the kitchen quietly, curious.

There's no stopping the sharp inhale of surprise when she crosses the threshold to see it's not Ukoku or even Guy but Hakkai standing in the kitchen. At this time of night?? She freezes, a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face, caught between a fight-or-flight response.

(For, you know, a given value of 'fight.')]

[The soft sound of footsteps outside doesn't worry Hakkai at first; it's Ukoku arriving back, he thinks, or Guy wondering what the noise is so late. He's been trying not to make too much noise, but sometimes, it's inevitable...

When he turns to see Yuri hovering at the threshold, his expression of shock matches hers for a moment.

Carefully, he puts down the washrag, and gestures politely to one of the kitchen chairs.]

Isn't it a little late to be planning a chess game?

[Yuri doesn't respond at first, moving almost on autopilot to the chairs. She doesn't sit down, but she sets a hand on the back of one, staring down at it as her mind tries to wrap around two truths that shouldn't be.

This is Ukoku's temple. Hakkai is at Ukoku's temple. Apparently, he's cleaning Ukoku's kitchen. None of these things feel like they should come together in the same sentence and yet, here they are.

What does chess have to do with anythi- Oh, right. Yuri shakes her head and looks at him for the first time since she crossed to the chairs, brow furrowed]

I didn't come here for that. [AH, that sounds a little odd. She shakes her head] I came here to see him. [not much better, but that's completely not important right now.]

Why are you here?

[Hakkai dries his hands on the kitchen towel, and raises one to brush the red character for curse newly tattooed across his throat, entirely revealed by the shirt he's left the top button undone on. Scrubbing a kitchen counter isn't the sort of job that calls for formal dress standards, and he hadn't really expected a midnight guest.]

I'm his new shinki.

... You're visiting at this time of night?

[Isn't she a little young for Ni?]

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May 30th

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June 1

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