thenearshore | Closed

[ Minamimoto doesn't see the big deal in casually trespassing on another god's property, but he's apparently alone in that thought. Nosing around Menvra's library is as good a use of his time as any. As far as he was concerned, the school teacher goddess and her right hand minion would stumble upon him eventually.

Still, he hadn't minded letting the monkey go off to inform the residents that he's around. It makes little difference in the end. But if Goku had thought he was leaving his god to loiter aimlessly, he was dead wrong.

Instead, he's got the perfect chance to teleport in a new piece of art that he's been working on. It's entirely suiting to a library, or so the storm god would like to think.

From almost any angle, the piece placed in the middle of the library is an abstract heap of junk piled in a seemingly haphazard manner. That couldn't be more wrong. Perfectly calculated, it's alarmingly sturdy, and there's one angle where a splash of yellow spray paint on large tires brings it to life as an owl watching over the library. With a certain finicky perfectionism, he's carefully adjusting the angle of a dented hubcap for optimal appearance and performance. ]

[Hakkai steps into the library and stares for a long moment.

Ah.

Yes, that certainly is a large heap of hubcaps, other metal fragments, and -- paint...? He takes one long step to the left, and the image snaps into place. An owl, and its creator is adjusting one of its feathers.]

That does cut off access to LA - M, I think, Susano'o.

Perhaps the courtyard would be a better place?

[Elsa comes in right behind Hakkai, pausing for a second or two to observe this ... installation in her library.]

Well. [She crosses her arms.] Owls are more Athena's thing, historically. Menrva is associated with hawks or falcons, if my research since being named Menrva is correct. Good effort, though.

[Goku is trailing not far behind at all. Having gone to let Elsa and Hakkai know that they were here, he'd followed as they led - it was their place, after all! - but coming back to this... Uh.]

What the hell, I'm gone for like ten minutes and you're junkin' up someone else's house...

[ Of all the reactions he'd expected, being suddenly dogpiled catches him off guard. They coud have at least been suitably awed. For a moment, the only noise Sho can summon is a frustrated growl. Goku's probably heard this one more than a few times, it's a middling level of irritation. ]

No comments from the peanut gallery or traitorous monkeys! You- [ He points at Elsa. ] -need to brush up on local culture. It's a zetta lucky charm. Something you'll need. Big time.

[ This is an entirely half-assed save, but he'll commit to it. He certainly had mixed up European wisdom goddesses. ]

Oh, well, it is a very nice owl!

[Hakkai laughs lightly, circling around the installation. Hmm, not bad. Those metal pieces are interlaced, aren't they? He reaches out to put weight on one of the ones jutting loose, not enough to bend it, but enough to test its give.]

What do you think, Elsa? In the courtyard by the steps?

Art isn't really my subject-- [She is a science teacher, for goodness's sake, an educator!] --but you're right, Hakkai. Very nice. Unique.

[She sounds impressed. She's got practice at this. Social graces, etc etc. Turning to Hakkai, she nods.]

Yes, it would be better by the steps. Just imagine, being faced by this when you're on your way to a normal day at school. It'll certainly be memorable.

[And then, to Sho--] You know, I've read that in some cultures, owls symbolize death, but I haven't checked on what they're associated with in Japan. And you're right, I will need good luck. I have a very diverse group of students in terms of education level, and it's going to take a lot of work to make sure they're all getting what they need out of their classes.

[To say absolutely nothing about the luck she and Hakkai and whoever else needs to figure out what is going on with the Heavens, what the deal with the chocolalte is, and what their role is in all of this.]

[Yep. Yep, Goku has heard it, and Goku is starting to get a little desensitized to it. The temple is full of this kind of stuff. From what he's seen, no one else's temples have random junk laying around.]

It's just junk that looks like an owl.

[But he doesn't dare touch it, even to just nudge it with a boot. If Hakkai and Elsa like it, he's not going to say anything! It's, uh. The thought that counts?]

[ They almost manage to mollify him. He eases up some as Hakkai investigates his structure, confident that he'll find it sturdy where it counts. This is a goddamn masterpiece they're dealing with here.

And Elsa gives him a perfect straight line with that talk of death and the symbolism thereof. He had been, after all, a Reaper, but the mess with the ayakashi had been deaths none of them had been aiming for. After all, the dead weren't good worshippers.

Goku ruins that. He abandons whatever dramatic statements he'd planned on making, teleporting right behind Goku and trying to snatch him by the back of the shirt. ]

Null values need to shut up! The significant digits are talking here!

[Goku has no way of predicting movements when he's not expecting to be grabbed for, and especially not from behind, so that grab is unfortunately successful. He lets out a small 'urk' noise, stumbling back a step, but then tenses up almost immediately.]

What am I, a rock or somethin'? I'm allowed to talk just like everyone else!

[He's totally significant!]

[It's reflexive, really. Hakkai takes a step towards Sho and Goku, one hand coming up as he lets out an artificially cheerful laugh.]

Come now, Susano'o, surely Goku is as significant as I am.

[Also: whether Goku is Susano'o's shinki or not, Hakkai does not intend to allow him to be manhandled in their library without an objection or two.]

Yes, surely.

[There's an edge to Elsa's voice. She hasn't moved to try and break this up (at least Hakkai has; clearly they're of the same mind in this, and what a good thing), but she's tensed and ready should she need to take action.]

And I do believe Hakkai is very significant.

[ Minamimoto's never been one to be able to read the room, but there's something at the edges of Hakkai's smile that gets his attention. He'd only been grumbling to begin with on a scale of his temper, and he blithely disregards the warnings that he's being given.

Nonetheless, Goku's getting a noogie before Sho lets him go. It's his duty as a god to keep his minion in line. ]

Heh, that so? It's that significance that made me think you'd be worth talking to.

[Hakkai lets his own hand fall back to his side as Susano'o releases Goku, but the next words out of the other god's mouth ensure he won't be feeling too relieved.

Surely he can't be planning to try asking Elsa the same question Hakkai already turned down?

The smile fades, slowly, like a sunset until his face is left carefully blank.]

Is that so? You didn't come just to leave us an owl?

[Ah, the taunting and teasing that people do to show their friendliness towards one another. Elsa has seen it time and time again, and she'd buy it now if not for the fact that Goku is a shinki, and he had no choice in becoming one, much less in being Susano'o's shinki. A god who is so violent with his shinki, whatever form and however slight that violence may take, isn't really one Elsa is inclined to be too kind to.]

Why did you come to see us, Susano'o? It's a lovely gift, but there must be a reason.

[That noogie makes Goku duck his head down, grunting with the force of it and trying to shove away from it. Sho is letting go, though, so it kind of does a double effect of letting him stumble back a step. This treatment is starting to get status quo, but it doesn't mean he particularly likes it.

The ~adults~ are talking, though, so he'll just stay quiet for now and rub the back of his wrist against his cheek. He really doesn't have anything to add anyway.]

[ Sho shoots Goku a smug little grin. Haha, showed him who was boss, didn't he? It's petty and positively childish, but he's never been good about being the mature one.

But then it's back to business, and business is going to be very good. ]

Heh. I don't know about you, but that inverse matrix that got pulled got me thinking. Shorty here even got put down for the count. [ There's a surprisingly casual rhythm to his speech, like he hadn't just had an outburst before. For that matter, it's entirely too relaxed for talking betrayal and life and death. ] You two were running ragged to do damage control, too, weren't you? How'd you like it? Good game?

Ah, I never like playing catch-up.

[So this is their topic. Hakkai's eyes narrow with sudden interest. It's much more to his taste than the one he'd suspected.]

It seems like that's the side we've been on since we arrived, doesn't it?

[Well, if we're going to air out our gripes with what happened... not a bad reason to stop by, Sho.]

Isn't that what we were all doing with the invasion a few weeks back? Possibly even with the boats. [The edge to her voice is still there, though it's a little less sharp than before.] It's almost like we're here to clean up other people's messes.

Invasion?

[Goku blinks, glancing from Elsa to Sho for confirmation. That was before he got here, obviously. The boats, though, didn't seem like much of a mess.]

The boats just seemed kinda like a fun festival, so I dunno if that had anythin' to do with messes. But that chocolate was kinda weird. Why'd Heaven tell us to pass out a bunch of chocolate when it's just gonna make people sick or worse? I thought we were s'posta be helpin' people...

[ Good. They were listening. ]

The invasion was an ayakashi influx. Call that t equals 2-24, or n. [ Said as an off-side, directed half to Goku to explain. ] Then t equals 3-5, or n plus 10, unlucky boats. n plus 20? Suicide chocolate. Meanwhile, n minus 9 is estimated to be the first iteration.

[ He rattles this all off in a staccato rhythm without a care for clarity, or even a pause for breath. The numbers spoke for themselves. ]

Let's operate in the real domain here. We're not the players. We're the pins. [ Now, he actually bothers to take a breath, but only one. No time to let anyone else interject. ] Bet you we're getting slammed at t equals 3-25.

[It really does make sense. Hakkai hadn't plotted everything out on a calendar, but Susano'o clearly has.]

Or 24. There is that initial irregularity.

If it follows the pattern, it should be something less serious this time, don't you think?

[He ticks each off on a finger.]

First, the new gods began to appear. Then, an ayakashi attack. Then, the boats. Then, another ayakashi attack. April fourth or fifth should be our next attack.

[Not the players, but the pins. The pieces on the board. It sends a chill through Elsa, because it feels too much like what she remembers from last year: being plucked from your normal life, being given a task, and being expected to do it. There's even fighting in her current situation. And maybe she gets to remember who she is this time, but Hakkai and the other shinki don't.

It's far too familiar.]

If that's the case, then we should prepare for it. [How do you prepare for an ayakashi attack, though? Short of predicting where it will be, or what will happen, and being there, there's not much they can do.] What's the point of identifying the pattern if we don't make use of it? We can tell the others, warn them.

[They have to do something. They can't be pawns anymore.]

[Meanwhile, Goku's head is still spinning from the numbers and math jargon that got called out. He didn't understand a bit of it. ... okay, well, he understood "ayakashi influx", and from listening to Hakkai and Elsa, he thinks he gets the idea. There's some kind of pattern.

At least he knows patterns.]

So, wait. There're gonna be more attacks soon? But if it's that easy to figure out, why can't Heaven do somethin' about it before it's a problem?

[ It was always nice when someone moved at a speed that could keep up with him. This, Sho thinks, ought to go well. He shrugs nonchalantly and tucks his thumbs in his pockets, keeping a loose posture. ]

My calculations suggest Heaven's a factor. There's a few reasons I picked an academic god to talk to.

[ He bounces on the balls of his feet, giving it a brief moment of dramatic pause. ]

One ought to be smart enough not to blab it all at 299,792,458 meters per second.

Heaven is the only common factor. Each of these events has been organized by the Heavens -- hasn't it?

I wasn't here for the invasion or the initial appearances. [He glances curiously at Susano'o. If those fit the pattern, too -- some kind of response organized by the ruling powers -- then there's no doubt whatsoever. Ayakashi invasions shouldn't happen to the schedule of anyone other than the person responsible for creating them.]

The question is who. Heaven is a very loose term, after all.

Amaterasu is the head god, isn't she? I arrived on the day of the invasion, so I can't speak to anything before then.

[Hinamatsuri at least is a cultural event, but is their involvement normal? Is it really true that keeping the boats away from shore was helpful? Giving away the chocolates certainly wasn't.]

I was told to leave a message when I went to talk with someone in the administrative offices. Filing paperwork isn't my preferred method of problem-solving. [Is it anyone's, though.] I'm not comfortable with the idea of not being allowed to speak to my-- [a bit of hesitation there, because she almost said 'master'] --superiors. I've always made it a point that my faculty, staff, and students can come talk to me.

[Even Mesogog was always available to talk to, for goodness's sake.]

... you don't think it's this Amaterasu lady, do you?

[It's kind of scary, knowing that the people in charge in this place would do something like that. That's not right. Why would they want innocent people to get hurt like that? All he remembers is the boats and then the chocolate - though he doesn't remember much, since he was sick - and while the boats didn't really hurt anyone, the chocolate did. He heard about it, and he experienced it firsthand.]

But there's lots of other gods, too, right? Ones that we've not met? So it could be anyone. But if we can't talk to 'em, how are we s'posta know who's doin' this stuff?

We've got too many unknowns to pin it down. [ Sho concedes that with another shrug. ] Even Monkey sees we can't calculate that where we're at now. But if big sis ain't doin' the job she's supposed to, someone's gotta do it for her.

[ He fizzles out in static, reappearing to sit atop his sculpture like some great, ungainly vulture. It comes to him as he leans forward that this is pretty damn fun. ]

So maybe it's time for a new game. I'm not about to let what's mine get derived, are you?

Edited 2016-06-12 14:50 (UTC)

That's the choice, isn't it? Either she's responsible, or she hasn't been doing her job at all.

[Hakkai looks up at Sho, his expression coolly interested. A "new game," indeed. His gaze, after a moment, flicks to Elsa.]

Elsa?

[He's not sure if he trusts Sho to be a stable or reliable ally. But if they both want to take down the highest gods... then, he thinks, he trusts Sho to be a powerful ally. And he'd spotted the pattern of supposed random events before Hakkai had.]

[Pursing her lips, Elsa frowns. She knows what Hakkai is feeling, which serves only to fuel the fire of what she is thinking. It seems that Sho has brought them a gift to entice them into an alliance. In truth, she doesn't trust him either -- she barely knows him, and he wasn't exactly responsible with his shinki after the chocolate incident.

But he is strong, and he is crafty, and he will be able to do things that she and Hakkai can't.

Glancing at Hakkai, she nods, then turns to Sho.] No, I'm not going to let that happen either. People died, and I want to know who is responsible.

[Something about this is bothering Goku, though. It's just how... black and white everything seems to be. Either Amaterasu is responsible, or she's failing to do her job and someone's getting away with it. But if she's trying her best, and someone else is just really good at slipping under the radar... That's a possibility, too.]

So... what're we gonna do? I don't think it's fair to just go in thinkin' it's all her fault, but maybe someone's just really good at sneakin' around an' she just can't find 'em.

[ His eyes are bright and excited. Yes. Yes, that's a win right there. They'll be an effective force, or a useful distraction. Either way, there's going to be more actors out there.

It'll become increasingly difficult for anyone in Heaven to find the real signal in all the noise. He just has to keep riling people up. ]

We're gonna proxy for my big sis, that's what. [ He's barely suppressing the excitement humming within him. ] We're the big damn heroes.

Now, now, Susano'o. I think heroes is going a little too far.

[Hakkai taps a fingertip against one of the owl's feathers with a light, metallic ting!]

You're suggesting we investigate behind her back, then?

Zetta duh. It's time to look at a more radical approach than playing catch up.

[It's difficult for Ayumu to sleep through the nights sometimes, especially in beds that aren't her own. This building might be Vesta's temple but it doesn't feel like home to Ayumu. The statues, pillars, and urn, while beautiful in their own way, are very foreign and it's hard not to feel a little lonely and homesick within these walls.

The few nights she's spent here have been dead silent so when Ayumu hears the sound of someone moving around, it catches her ear instantly. She sleeps nude so the first thing she does is throw on a yukata just in case it's Satoshi before exiting her room barefoot. The floor is slightly chilly but she doesn't pay it any mind as she pads silently down the corridor.

After a brief peek into Satoshi's room, the fact that the boy is still slumbering peacefully while the strange noises continue is enough to place the shinobi on high alert. For a moment, she debates heading to the kitchen for a knife or cleaver before investigating further but ultimately decides against it. It's on the other side of the temple and besides, she's perfectly capable of killing intruders unarmed should it come to that.

For now, she'll just sneak quietly through the building until she finds the source of the noise.]

Edited 2016-05-25 12:44 (UTC)

[ In all truth, Minamimoto is not entirely certain where he is right now. He'd gone out on a ramble in the dead of night, needing to stretch his legs and find some new materials for an art project. The inspiration had struck him, and property rights were rarely something he respected.

Besides, Menvra... that was Greek or Roman or something, right? Coming upon this particular god's estate seems like a coincidence, and there has to be something to add to the heap here of a certain aesthetic. Breaking and entering is easy for a teleporter.

Perhaps he should have been quieter as he ventured through the building, but just now he's hit on what he wants to take with him. He'll have to leave a trade to balance the equation, but first he has to calculate the best way to take this pillar apart to use in his latest art project. ]

[She's getting closer. The sounds are coming from just up ahead. And oh, look at that – she must have forgotten to put the broom away after sweeping earlier today. It's not an ideal weapon but it's available and it'll do nicely.

And Ayumu spots what she's looking for, just up ahead. It's a strange man she's never seen before – so definitely an intruder. He seems to be inspecting one of the pillars for some reason. Silently, she edges around the room, sticking to the shadows, until she's directly behind him.

She slowly raises the broom as if it's a bokken before swiftly bringing it down in a downward strike aimed at the back of intruder's head.]

[ WHUMP!

It's not often someone sneaks up on Minamimoto, and the sudden impact against his head is jarring. With an entirely undiginified yelp and startled enough that he doesn't think to teleport out, he turns on her. ]

What the factor--?!

[He's lucky she hit him with the straw end instead of the handle. That luck doesn't seem to be holding up now because she quickly shifts her grip and takes another swing at his face, this time with the end that can damage more than egos.

It's nothing personal, really. He just roamed into a temple where a sleeping child and a self-appointed protector of children happen to reside.]

[ Well, that's enough to remind him that he can teleport. He does so even as she connects, and he reappears a few meters away with a hand on his face. He's lucky he's more durable than the average number cruncher, but that smarted something fierce. ]

Son of a digit!

[Did he really just teleport?

Ayumu hates this place and its magic and technology making everything so complicated and difficult to understand.

Well, fine. If he wants to bring magic into this, so will she.

Ayumu drops the broom on the floor with a clatter and raises her hand. A small, glowing orange ball of flame ignites in her palm.

Time to test your reflexes, intruder, because apparently the goddess of this temple is in a mood.]

[ Indignantly: ] What's got your function inverted?

[ Who is this crazy fire-themed woman, anyway? It occurs, a fraction of moment later that, perhaps, she lives here. Somehow, that knowledge doesn't make him feel any less unjustly attacked.

He's ready to spam his teleportation if need be, however. ]

What did you just say to me? You're in my house!

[Ayumu hurls the fireball at him. As annoyed and frustrated as she might be, she's ready to collapse the flame in a moment if it misses. After all, burning down her temple trying to protect it from invaders is counterproductive.

She's certainly doing a convincing impression of a crazy woman at the moment with her lips curling into a snarl. Letting others think she has less self-control than she actually does is a useful trick after all.]

[ So he'd been the one that had inverted her function.

Input equaled the output when you accounted for that factor, he thinks. An uncharacteristically startled sounding laugh escapes him as she throws fire at him, and he fizzles out like static just before the fire reaches him only to pop back in 3.14 meters to the right. ]

I'm down with this zetta warm welcome. [ It's early enough in the day that he can be forgiven a shameless pun. It strikes him as a suitably irritating thing to say, and he preemptively teleports another jump just for good measure. ]

[That time Ayumu actually understood what he said. Mostly. But it just annoys her even more and normally she likes lame puns.

Immediately after he blinks out of sight, Ayumu snuffs the flame quickly before it can catch on anything. Fire's just too risky indoors with Satoshi asleep in another room and she was able to connect with the broom, at least.

While he's teleporting to avoid another fireball that isn't coming, not yet anyway, she's rearming herself with the broom.]

Who are you? What are you even doing here?

[Her words come out as a hiss.]

Susano'o. I was solving a problem.

[ His posture relaxes somewhat now that he's a healthy distance from her, though he's warily watching that broom. ]

[Ayumu's eyes widen slightly in surprise. Unlike the name she'd been given, she recognizes this one. She's Japanese, after all, and of course, she's heard stories of Susano'o.

This really isn't how she pictured him. At all.

And it doesn't explain why Susano'o is in her temple in the middle of the night.]

A problem? What kind of problem?

[Her posture relaxes as well, deceptively so. He may be a fair distance away but Ayumu can move very fast when she needs to close distances very quickly.]

Closed

March 19 - Menvra's Library

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March 19; wee hours of morning; Vesta's villa

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