thenearshore | Another place, a better time

Entry tags:

Another place, a better time

Who: Izuku Midoriya, The Medicine Seller
What: A trial run
When: June 20
Where: The park -> The Near Shore

Izuku's dressed in nicer clothes than usual. A button down and jeans instead of a mislabeled t-shirt, like he would be around Shouto. He's sitting at a park bench at 8:50, poking around on his phone and looking up every couple of seconds, looking for The Medicine Seller.

There are plenty of ayakashi running around on the Near Shore. Even if somebody manages to get rid of some, they seem to spring right back with alarming regularity. But then, they do feed off of emotions, as far as he can tell. Maybe they'll go to the hospital- or a company. Both places tend to have a negative draw.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's precisely 9:00, down to the second, when there's a quiet sound behind Izuku -- a footstep, perhaps, though the Medicine Seller doesn't seem to be moving when he's spotted.

He stayed the night at Baron Samedi's place -- it felt like a safe choice, given his friendship with his former god and his apparent lack of interest in taking him as a shinki. The ghosts weren't a bother, but he's never spent a great deal of his time resting, so the truth is, he's been in the park for some time already, doing what he does best -- watching and listening, filing everything he sees and hears quietly away for consideration. It's more interesting on the Near Shore, where he can keep tabs on ayakashi he wants to go after, but he has somewhere to be right now, so the park will do.

By the time he shows himself, he's sure this person is waiting for someone, and close to sure he's the one he came to meet. He bows his head politely, watching Izuku with calm, calculating blue eyes.

"Good morning. Aidos?"

The quiet of the park is nice. He doesn't take that much time to just sit and think about things. It's usually a morning run, taking prayers, doing this or that. Whatever he can to keep himself busy.

He doesn't jump, but he does get up and turn towards the Medicine Seller as he's addressed. He bows back, just as polite.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you in person."

The boy doesn't seem ill-suited to the divine role he mentioned on the network -- humility seems to come naturally to him, if he's willing to bow even before a nameless shinki. The Medicine Seller smiles, though it's difficult to tell just how much or how little the expression means, coming from him.

"It's an honor."

He doesn't know the Medicine Seller well, but he's had his fair share of hard to read people. Kido was a hard read, and even Todoroki can be difficult at times.

He ducks his head. He's been a god here for quite a while now, but it's strange to have anybody address him like that. "Uh... You don't have to be so formal with me.

Should I name you now? It's probably easier if we do that now so we can start hunting once we get to the Near Shore...."

He hums, thoughtful, still watching Izuku carefully.

"Perhaps so. At any rate, I won't have a name, until you do."

Not a real one, anyway; 'Medicine Seller' is hardly a name. It feels strange, he realizes, not to have the name that he'd grown accustomed to introducing himself by lately anymore.

"Would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself? Things you like to do? Even if this partnership doesn't last long- it'd be nice if it fit you... Right?"

Shouto's shinki name is just based off of the kanji used to compose his name. It was easiest that way, and he knew it fit already. For somebody he doesn't know, and doesn't have any context for, it's much harder.

Just briefly, he hesitates.

This is it again -- the problem he and his former god always ran up against.

"There is... little to tell. I am only a simple shinki."

He bows his head again, as if in acknowledgement of this fact.

"I am happiest... when I am of use."

The thing, and he's painfully aware of it right now, is that it isn't a lie. Serving his purpose, fighting ayakashi... that is the thing he has the most genuine interest in. It's what makes him the closest to happy. But Donut always seemed to want there to be something more to him, always seemed sad that he understood so little of the appeal of a life outside that calling.

It is a calling, for him, and one that's deeply satisfying. He doesn't feel pitiable in the slightest, but he hasn't had much luck making more human people understand that, so far.

That's not impossible to believe. He hasn't been in the situation of being a shinki, but if he had, that's probably along the right lines. He just wants to help people, no matter what and no matter how. That's always been his dream, and that wouldn't change, even if he was missing all his memories.

"How does the kanji for 'protect' sound?" Since that's essentially what the Medicine Seller would be doing. Fighting ayakashi means protecting the Near Shore from their influence.

Again, his head tilts to the side slightly, and he lapses into a slightly awkward silence as he considers it.

It isn't a name he'd have considered for himself. Protecting doesn't feel like it's exactly at the core of what he does, in his own eyes. It happens, yes, but it's largely incidental to his primary motivation.

Still, he could do worse.

"If that pleases you."

He'd feel really uncomfortable naming the Medicine Seller something like 'weapon' or 'tool'. Those are words he tries very hard to avoid with Shouto, when he knows so much about his history.

Izuku's not certain he'll get a solid answer besides that, so he'll go ahead with the kanji he has in mind.

"Alright." Medicine Seller had a god before him, so he's familiar with the incantation.

He closes his eyes for a moment before reciting, "Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Medicine Seller, the vessel Go. Come, Goki!"

Even after doing it four times, it's strange to say. Calling people his servants seems off- no matter how this world is arranged.

To the Medicine Seller, on the other hand, the ritual seems perfectly normal. More normal, perhaps, than a lot of day-to-day life.

It's power, bound by carefully-chosen words, honed to a point for a sole purpose. That's... that's natural, to him. It makes sense, in a way that few things do.

The character hangs in the air, bright and glowing, before it comes towards him. For just an instant, he sees it emblazon itself on the inside of his right forearm, and then...

Then he isn't human. (Not even as human as he usually is.)

It's something of a relief, truth be told.

In Izuku's hand, he's an old-fashioned smoking pipe, with a long, straight wooden stem and a curve in the metallic segment leading up to the small bowl. A hint of smoke rises from the bowl, purplish and faintly shimmering; it smells not of tobacco, but of temple incense.

Hmm.

It feels... different, somehow, from being a mirror, but not unpleasantly so.

Izuku reels for a moment as he absorbs the death of the Medicine Seller. It's one of the more memorable death scenes he's experienced, that's for sure. Eaten by an nure-onna. At least there's only death. One is far easier to stomach than thousands. Quietly he notes how different the Medicine Seller's life was to his own. It's not something he'll ever talk about, but it's fascinating to think about how different worlds are to each other.

Once he's adjusted to it, he examines the pipe. He's seen shinki take all sorts of forms, from traditional weapons to technological gadgets. Most of the one's he's worked with weren't traditional weapons- they still made those partnerships work.

"How is it?"

Not uncomfortable.

He contemplates the smoke that he can sense rising away from himself, wondering if it does anything of note. Incense can be used to purify, can't it? It's too bad that he isn't a mirror anymore, though, it was useful to be able to reflect magical attacks...

We'll have to see how it works. Won't we?

Not uncomfortable is a good start. They'll have to be in action to see what they can accomplish together.

"Right."

It doesn't take him too long to teleport down to the Near Shore. They land next to an Aidos shrine not far from the business side of town. Already he can feel the gloomy atmosphere- he starts walking in that direction.

The Medicine Seller is quiet as they make their way through the town, but he gives off a pronounced air of vigilance, his earlier curious watchfulness now laced with a distinct predatory streak.

And the closer they get to the source of that gloom, the sharper the air around him seems to become. He's not happy, not exactly, but the tension that hangs around him is very close to excitement.

It's fascinating the way that the Medicine Seller seems to emote when he's in use. He seemed so unaffected earlier. That's almost excitement on the one way street that lets him feel his shinki's emotions.

Maybe they have different feelings and lead ups to protecting people and fighting ayakashi. But they both want to eliminate the monsters that feed on the Near Shore residents. That's something they agree on.

Izuku's grip becomes more firm as they get closer and closer to the source. If it can be felt from so far, there has to be a powerful ayakashi at the center of it all.

As they get closer to the source, it's unmistakable. The sense of something powerful lying in wait.

It's strong.

Perhaps that ought to be a warning. More than apprehensive, though, he feels intrigued.

"I can tell."

It also doesn't bother him as much as it should. He's had battle experience. Between this world and his own, he's confident in his abilities.

"Ready for this?" Because Izuku sure is.

Ready?

Completely.

There's no trace in him of fear or hesitation -- just sharp, adrenaline-laced clarity of purpose. Whatever comes at them, he feels completely prepared to deal with. It's how he always is, with a clear goal ahead of him.

At the agreement he'll run up, finally face to face with the giant frog-like ayakashi. He's sure he's seen something like it before, but not anything quite this big.

As soon as he's close enough power starts sparking off of him as he activates One for All and aims a kick at the frog's skin.

That's interesting. The Medicine Seller's attention stays focused razor-sharp on the ayakashi, but as the kick connects and makes the huge ayakashi roar in sudden fury and takes a swipe at them in revenge, he makes a little mental note that there's more to Aidos than meets the eye.

But what can he do right now to help him? As he considers that question, he becomes aware of the sense that the shimmering purpose smoke is building up in the bowl of the pipe that he's become.

The smoke. Blow it towards the ayakashi!

The rubbery skin has him bouncing off of the ayakashi in a way he hadn't quite accounted for. Between that and the swipe, he's stumbling to regain his balance and ready another attack.

"Got it!" Unexpected, but the Medicine Seller knows his abilities better than anyone else. So he'll do as he's instructed and watch the ayakashi's reaction as he considers their next move.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Another place, a better time

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject