we set the fire and we let it burn

[kokuyoyo]

Who: Chikusakokuyoyo and anyone
What: For such a lethargic teenager, Chikusa sure does have a lot of things to do... Includes book goblins, shopping and possible theft, casing out a zoo, and hunting down ayakashi for his own means.
When: June 8 - June 20 (aka February Catchall)
Where: Various places
Warnings: Chikusa being a murderous little teenager

Chikusa, as he knows himself, has only existed for around a month. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less, but definitely not very long at all. Yet... Waking up in the comfort of Axel's temple, curled with his back to a wall and possibly under a bed, Chikusa sometimes has to marvel at how much he has to do. As much as he doesnt' want to move, wants to let what seems like a perpetual exhaustion just strangle him sweetly, he can't let that happen...

Because he has to look after Axel-sama.

It's just.... he supposes he hadn't realized what "looking after Axel-sama" had meant in the grand scheme of things. Still. No rest for the wicked. Every morning, after checking in with Axel and seeing if he needs him or if he can help in any way, Chikusa sets off.

A - The Far Shore
[Those wandering the Far Shore inbetween temples have a good chance of stumbling across Chikusa today. It might not be unusual to have seen the teenager before- it didn't take long after the festival for him to start exploring and getting his bearings. However, he's never stayed in place in long, always on the move.]

[But today... Today, after stumbling across a set of books left laying around along the paths, one in particular has caught his attention. He'd flipped through two of them, attention quickly waning when he'd realized they were just fiction, but the last...]

[So it's possible to find a lanky teenager in a simple black beanie somewhere near your temple or along the paths in the Far Shore, engrossed strongly in a book whose title is visible on the spine: A Succinct History of Italy.]

[Later that night, it's also possible to come across him hauling ass after a goblin that's stolen back the books, keeping up with surprising speed that no one might expect from such a lethargic teenager. Yet he's not fast enough to stop the slippery creature from diving into nearby foliage. While Chikusa immediately follows after, looking through everything, he stops after a few seconds and sighs.]

Annoying...

B - The Near Shore, various stores

[While he'd meant to go gather some things either way, it seem the encounter with the stray books has spurred Chikusa into it further. Thus he can be found roaming through Tokyo, poking into various shops and considering things, sometimes adjusting his green galaxy beanie.]

[In tech stores, he can be found carefully inspecting various computers, laptops, and cameras. More than once, he glance at the price and frown.]

These are too expensive...

[And for a couple of those who ran into him at the festival, that might be a worrying statement. But, hey! Surely he wouldn't steal more things, r-right?]

[At a bookstore, at least he's more behaved while also more noticeable: gathering small stacks of books as he carefully navigates through all of the shelves. Anyone who takes a look at them will notice they seem to fall into two categories: books on Italy and books on domestic things such as chores. There are a lot of cookbooks.]

[More than once, he has to bat away the store employees so that they remember he exists and that this is his pile, but you might also catch his eye as well if you get too close or start investigating the piles. Enjoy that dead eyed stare.]

What?

C - The Near Shore, Zoos

[Maybe you just wanted to take a break from the wildness that is being part of the Far Shore. Maybe you just genuinely like zoos. Maybe you're a huge nerd. Whatever the reason, you'll find that Chikusa is also here today.]

[He also absolutely snuck in and did not pay. Little shit.]

[Sporting another black beanie, he seems to be wandering throughout the entire zoo, lingering here and there. While some people might just take it as a particularly unenthusiastic zoo visit, those familiar with it might realize he's absolutely scoping the zoo out- taking note of cameras and everything else.]

[The only place he seems to take actual interest in is the poisonous animal exhibits, looking with intense interest at various spiders, snakes, and other such creatures.]

D - The Near Shore, Ayakashi Hunting

[And for this, clad in a simple navy beanie, Chikusa can be found everywhere.]

[It hasn't taken him long at all to realize the presence of two new variants of ayakashi roaming throughout Tokyo- being essentially a ghost allows him to hear all sorts of gossip if he wanders enough, and humans do notice when things are odd. So it's possible to find Chikusa simply wandering all over the city, relentless even if one might not think so by his calm pace, a messenger bag around his shoulder. And when he does locate either of the new ayakashi...]

[With the frog ayakashi, Chikusa is almost like a hunting hound. That he's driven it away from human populated areas into side alleys is more a coincidence than anything done out of good will. While it's difficult to do on his own, the shinki is aggressively focused, eyes sharp as he tries to guide the aggravated frog into a corner utilizing borderlines. Anyone is free to find him during this chase... Or in the aftermath, when the frog is finally cornered with a borderline and unable to hop anywhere else.]

[Chikusa makes no move to call his god in an effort to destroy it, however, despite the look of active disgust crumpling his usually stoic face. Instead, he seems to be studying it, at one point even grabbing it and hissing as blight spreads along his hand. Patiently, he takes out a flask of water- taken from his god's temple- and patiently starts to wash the blight away even as he keeps an eye on the frog.]

[The mosquito ayakashi is, predictably, a lot harder, and there's a jar in his hand and an annoyed frown on his face as he hauls after the frustrating thing. It's clear that, unlike with the frog ayakashi, he's having a lot more trouble with this one.]

[Of course, if anyone wanted to help... he certainly wouldn't complain.]

E - General Catchall

[And of course, feel free to bother Chikusa about anything, anywhere.]

Comments

bookstore!

[nolittlesecret]

[Books are great. They teach you things, and you can ignore people if they think you're really into the book you're reading. Best part is book sleeves. He could buy a book on baby animals, but the book sleeve could make it look like he was learning advanced chemistry. Nope. Baby animals.

Cookbooks are another treasure always waiting to be found. There's one he had spied in that pile he's found that piques his interest.]

Dude, where did you find that Better Homes & Gardens cookbook?

[It feels like the kind of book he would really, really love to own. Hos own books are mostly about plants. baby animals are hidden in there somewhere]

[kokuyoyo]

[At the question, something in Chikusa seems to go lax and he glances around again.]

It was... over here, I think.

[He starts to shuffle towards some shelves in particular, even as he glances at the other.]

You cook...?

[nolittlesecret]

[Nodding, Nari follows him over, looking up and down the shelves for it.]

Apparently. Don't know how, so maybe I was able to when I was alive. It just felt natural.

[Another book catches his eye and he pulls it down.]

They got some international recipes in this one. I'll get this one too.

[kokuyoyo]

The same... but I'm not sure if there's something I'm better at.

[Cooking seems like such an enormous range, after all. Baking to soups to roasting meat. Chikusa nods at his choice.]

I've been glancing over those too.... It doesn't seem like everyone is from Japan, after all.

...Here. [A gesture to the shelf he stops at.]

Zoo, probably like June 10th

[missingache]

[This time of year a lot more animals are out on display, especially the babies. It was always great to see the little things in high spirits with the warmth of the sun. Roxas does notice something that looks like suspicious behavior. What was that guy up to...?

Curiosity gets the better of him and he follows. Waiting till they were closer to a quieter part of the zoo, Roxas shoves his hands in his pocket and tries not to look threatening.]

What are you doing?

[kokuyoyo]

[Oh. Chikusa's attention draws over to the blond coming to investigate him, sweeping over him. To be able to see him... That's a god, then, or a shinki. Depending on which he is, this cold be annoying.]

Looking around.... [Not untrue.] Who are you?

[missingache]

[There's an internal debate going on. Which name to give... Well, let's just give his real name for now.]

The name's Roxas.

Zoo

[concasse]

[Guess who also didn't pay their fare when sneaking into the zoo?

It might be the same guy who, unlike Chikusa, accidentally got himself lost in the exhibits and is now stuck wandering through the poisonous animals, head bowed and shoulders so stiff you could balance weight on them. Snakes he can deal with, and he'll even take some variety of bugs if there's no choice, but spiders?

No.

N O.]

Gross, gross, gross, gross-- [Someone please save him, he needs an adult]

[kokuyoyo]

[Unfortunately, Chikusa is a teenager.]

[And unhelpful.]

[That last part especially becomes apparent when the sound of Sanji's muttering comes nearer, and Chikusa glances back over his shoulder. Learning how to distinguish the kinds of people who get gazes passed over them- the tell tale signs of the Far Shore- is becoming a skill he's learned fairly quickly.]

[A good person would help.]

Not really.

[Chikusa is not a good person.]

[concasse]

No one asked your shitty opinion, kid!

[In stark contrast to the low mutters, Sanji holds no qualms about verbally dragging someone through the mud if it suits his mood. Unfortunately, his penance is delivered with a swiftness; there's a spider display right behind Chikusa's head and the man all but chokes on his tongue when he looks up]

Why do people like this kind of thing?!

[he just wants to go home]

D, frog hunting

[minogame]

( Urashima hadn't really gone out of his way to find any ayakashi. He was just in the city, minding his own business when he'd seen a... rather slimey looking student wander lost into what appeared to be an unfamiliar part of the city to them. Urashima had helped them find their way back to the station with some vague directions but now that he's left here, he can't help but feel a little on edge. Something else is here and his hand reaches for his shoulder to soothe an agitated turtle.

Maybe he should start carrying his sword around at this rate, he thinks. And maybe it isn't best to go investigating unarmed but he figures if it's dangerous, he'll retreat and call for help. Searching the nearby area, he sees Chikusa just in time to see him reach out and grab the frog ayakashi-- )

What're you-- ( Doing?! He starts to yell but Chikusa pulls out a flash of water, washing away the blight and that only confuses him more. Actually, it doesn't matter what's going on because Urashima doesn't see or sense anyone else nearby and a shinki can't defeat an ayakashi on his own. ) Get away from it! You can't beat it on your own.

[kokuyoyo]

[...Oh. Someone's nearby.]

[Tucking the flask away again, Chikusa glances over the surprise guest. Right, the person from the beach party.... There's a soft shake of his head.]

I'm not interested in beating it... So it's fine.

[All he needs to do is contain it, figure out as much as he can from it. Fighting ayakashi is one thing; learning from them is something else entirely.]

[minogame]

( That's even worse. He'd thought Chikusa was just prepared but to practically go playing with dangerous things is something else. )

You're-- ( Crazy. ) Then what're you trying to do? You can't do anything so let's just go and find our gods.

Come on... ( He's pleading, here. ) Let's go.

A

[smilingbullet]

[ This place is still so very new so you just gotta spend the day exploring. But it gets him lost a couple times and he makes his way back to Anpao's temple by backtracking, more than once, and comes across the teen reading close by his God's temple. ]

...do you like Italy?

[ Suddenly asking strangers questions he doesn't actually have anything to do with is a Thing. ]

[kokuyoyo]

I don't know.

[Chikusa doesn't even bother looking up, still focused on the book. People suddenly getting in other people's business seems to be the norm here, from what he understands, so he's not particularly bothered by a stranger commenting on hi reading choices.]

But.... it's familiar.... I think.

[Or, rather, he's surprised to find that he know a lot about Italy.... despite his name and waking up dead in Japan.]

[smilingbullet]

[ He tries to peek at the pages, but since he's standing in front of him the pages ends up being upside down, and he can't really see what the text says. ]

Familiar? There could be several reasons for that.

[ So is this guy a shinki as well, then, since he says it seems familiar instead of knowing if it is or not? ]

June 9, locked to Yusuke (injury and stitches tw)

[kokuyoyo]

In the end, the ayakashi gets away, and Chikusa finds himself with ruined clothes.

Oh. And a laceration wound in his side. That too.

That one is admittedly the most pressing. There's no pain, which is fine by Chikusa, but even he knows that it's possible for him to bleed out eventually. So after a quick stop to pick up the appropriate supplies (perhaps not exactly legally), he tucks himself away in an alley in the city and peels off his shirt. He has no issue washing away some of the blood before he starts to stitch himself up. That's the easy part.

What actually has him frowning is a much more mundane problem than what he's currently taking care of.

"Getting the blood out... how troublesome." It's be tempting to just find a new shirt and pants. After all, it's not like these are the most expensive clothes- just jeans and a simple white shirt with thin colored lines going through it. But...

[shotgun_phoenix]

Yusuke had just been wandering again. It was something he'd taken to doing. Just...walking. It helped him settle his general restlessness if nothing else. He hadn't expected to run into anyone. But he wasn't displeased about it. He'd seen him before.

He sauntered over hands in his pockets as he studied him. " It's not that hard. " He told him cheerfully.

[kokuyoyo]

At the familiar voice, Chikusa glances up, suspicious initially before his curiosity gets the better of him. If he could save on money- and keep his god from worrying unnecessarily about him- then it would be for the better.

“How?”

D - Mosquito

[giftedistheterm]

[No surprise that rumors of a mysterious and severe illness spreading through Tokyo catch Simon's attention. The doctor investigates as best he can, though he's still new to this, walking unnoticed through hospitals to examine the victims personally. Once he's determined it's a normal disease he's tracing the patients history, going to where they live and work and trying to find a source for this illness...

And that's how he spots Chikusa, running full tilt with an open jar in one hand and the lid in the other, down the street. Is he paying attention to where he's going? It doesn't appear that he is in Simon's opinion, and the doctor's quick to shout after him the moment he starts to wander too close to traffic.]

Stop!

[kokuyoyo]

[The good news: the kind doctor’s words reach Chikusa just in time to keep him from barreling into the street, lanky frame almost seeming to topple over from how suddenly he stops.]

[The bad news: after an annoyed glance at the busy street, he immediately starts to back up with every bit of his body language saying he’s going to just try and blitz through. At least with one hand, he raises it up in Simon’s direction to let him know he’s been heard.]

[giftedistheterm]

[Right, Chikusa heard him and stopped, which means he's less likely to be a mortal...it's normally much harder to get their attention, even briefly. That is a good thing...what isn't is that Chikusa doesn't seem to have really listened.]

Wait, don't just--

[But even as he says them Simon realizes words aren't going to cut it and he's running himself to put a stop to this. A hand reaches out, grabbing for the one Chikusa' raised to him in order to keep him on the sidewalk.]

They won't notice you. If you run out there they'll run you down!

D

[fixed_destiny]

[Chikusa isn't the only one out hunting these things, though until now they've been doing it on opposite sides of the city. It probably would have been wiser for Xehanort to bring his shinki along on this adventure in case things went badly, but he hadn't seen her since the beach and since he'd said she could stay where she wished that was more likely his doing than anything else.

It does mean that he's hunting on his own though, following the sound and scent of a frog ayakashi that had already slimed several people. Following one of them had made him lose his trail for a while, but eventually he finds one again and trails it patiently ... only to find someone else is doing the same, with the same frog.

And using borderlines to herd it but obviously not try to kill it. Interesting. Chikusa himself is recognized after a few moments, but Xehanort doesn't say a word til the thing is cornered.]

Are you going to kill that?

[His voice is mild, identical to before but for the faintest reverberation that isn't normally there - and he certainly doesn't LOOK the same, now in the form of a good seven foot tall black-furred jackal-headed man in distinctly ancient Egyptian styled clothing. It's a more efficient form to go hunting in given its superior senses and sharp claws and teeth, but none have been required yet.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Company again. And considering how the last time went, Chikusa is a lot more suspicious as he glances over at the…. Dog headed man? Well, sure, might as well deal with weird nonsense.]

No. Do you have complaints about that?

[fixed_destiny]

Not at all.

[The dog-headed man folds his hands neatly behiind his back, oversized ears perked up.]

Though I'd like to have it when you're finished whatever it is you're doing, if that's alright.

[Why on earth would he interfere if it's not going to be killed? He only needs it ALIVE, not necessarily in good shape.

... Presuming it's going to be beaten around, anyway.]