[Closed] Agony's torn at the heart too long

[pure_radiantics]

Who: Kairi, Chikusa Kakimoto, Hakkai Cho, Izumo Kusanagi, and Goten
What: M03: Soulless Shinki Ablution
When: June 24th, starting at dusk
Where: The Far Shore
Warnings: Probably some body horror for halfway to ayakashi soulless shinki visual descriptions

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A mission for purification:
One of the soulless shinki has been blighted by an aykashi enough to require an ablution. Help them.

Comments

Pre-Prayer: Chikusa & Kairi find the Soulless

[pure_radiantics]

[It's supposed to be a simple walk. 2 days ago Kairi got in big trouble with Roxas, so she's not looking for anything new to make him mad over. After 2 days, she does want to chat with Chikusa some more, though. She'd noticed how much better he'd gotten at Training, so a walk and talk about Spells and this & that - wearing her boots from their shopping trip - seemed like a good way to take her mind off how the situation with Goten panned out.

They go walking for awhile and eventually come near the Soulless Shinki Temple around dusk. She does know they should start heading back, but she keeps talking while they walk.]

... So I was talking to Lavi about the Silence Spell the other day. Do you know that one?

[kokuyoyo]

I have notes on it I got from someone else... and the Truth Spell. But... It seems like trying to learn everything at once will just be troublesome, so I've been trying to focus on Bind...

[It's not that Chikusa really cares about being dragged around by other people with more energy than him, or talking about spells.... But there's something particularly hard to resist about Kairi. Other people, if they knew, might call that a crush, but it's not... entirely right. It's just that she's his reference point, in a similar way to Sanada although still different. When he'd still been new, she'd been the first thing to make sense.]

[What doesn't make sense, however.... As the Soulless Shinki temple's shadow stretches out before them, his abysmally slow pace goes all the slower, and he glances at it warily. He never feels comfortable around this place...]

[pure_radiantics]

I think I've got Bind down, that's why I wanted to learn Silence next, but Truth sounds pretty impressive too...

[She hadn't intentionally steered them towards the Soulless Shinki Temple. It just kind of happened while they were walking. However, she's walked a couple of places with Chikusa now. She's always instinctively tried to match his languid pace that isn't all that slow considering he's got longer legs, but then she's surging ahead and she turns back.]

Is something--

[Looking back towards the temple, Kairi feels her stomach twisting in knots. That's a familiar - and not good - reaction of hers to substantial blight. She reaches a hand back blindly for Chikusa.]

Maybe... we should go back. It'll be getting dark soon, right?

[kokuyoyo]

[It probably says something about Chikusa that he has more of a reaction to Kairi taking his hand than the sickening twist in his stomach that comes with sensing blight. There's a blink down at it, even a slight twist of his shoulders that hints he almost pulled back but ultimately didn't.]

[the fresh hell is this]

....Maybe. [And then because they're both thinking it and Chikusa has a specialty in being blunt for lack of effort- ] Ayakashi.... usually don't get into the Far Shore, right...?

[pure_radiantics]

[ She's scared, what do you want from her? Searching for someone else's hand to know she's not alone, that's her coping. Powerful ayakashi make her a little sick still, even after the exposure she's gotten on several prayers now. She soon sees why this is a little different.

The Soulless shinki sitting on the front stoop of the temple is a young girl close in age to Chikusa and Kairi, but when she turns to face them, there's an extra eyeball on her cheek and the area around it is marred, all the way down her neck and shoulder, a dark blotchy purple. ]

It's... coming from that girl. Chikusa, I- I think she's been blighted. Somehow...

[ Kairi takes another step backwards, remembering what she promised Roxas. ]

How can that happen - here, in the Far Shore? We should - we have to tell someone right away!

[kokuyoyo]

[While it doesn't say much to say this is the most abhorrent thing he's ever seen- what he's seen isn't even a good couple of months after all, as a new shinki- Chikusa's normally dull expression warps into one of utter disgust. He's seen blight himself on him, on Hakkai, but it was always small cases... foolish things like touching an ayakashi barehanded.]

[To this extent...]

[With his free hand, it's almost some sort of forgotten habit to tug on his hat, dull and bright green fabric seeming to steady him before he reaches to get his phone. Immediately, he starts to go through his contacts. It's a good thing he put a certain someone on speed dial...]

Hakkai has been here the longest.... he'll know.

[Probably. In the meantime, as he waits for Hakkai to pick up, he uncertainly tests Kairi's grip on his other hand. Is.... this is just how things are now?]

[pure_radiantics]

[She does end up letting go of Chikusa's hand because she wants to make some calls of her own, but he mentions Hakkai...]

Oh, good point...

[She starts to pull up Yukine's contact information but then she looks at her own personal note she left on there: REMINDER - CURFEW IN EFFECT AFTER DARK. She starts looking around, realizing just how fast dusk is turning into evening.]

I wish I could get Yukine to help us out too...

[But if not him... She keeps thinking, scrolling through her contacts.]

Oh! Izumo maybe...

[She mumbles to hersel, but she looks over at Chikusa to see what Hakkai says first.]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai's first thought when he sees Chikusa's number on his buzzing phone is to wonder if the boy's being attacked by Hibari after all. He had offered his protection.

And he's also free, so he picks up the phone with a polite little throat-clearing noise.]

Hello? What is it, Chikusa?

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa doesn't waste much time.]

The temple where the soulless shinki are kept.... One of them has been blight. [A brief pause.] Severely.... Eyes are growing from it.

Should we just kill it...?

[At least he's asking before going straight to murder.]

The Actual Mission

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi thankfully didn't have too much to worry about with regards to Chikusa's tranquilizer hurting the Soulless shinki girl, because it keeps her near the front entrance, and because the other Soulless apparently had enough of a gut instinct to stay away from blight itself, more so than they normally might have cared about their own wellbeing.

She sits on her knees a few yards away from the girl, with her Borderline between the two of them, holding her phone in one hand after having finished the call to Izumo.]

I don't know how this happened to you... but I swear I'll find the ayakashi that hurt you.

[There was no way that a Soulless could... feel guilt, right? As awful as the situation was to her that a shinki should be Soulless in the first place, she was all but convinced that this poor girl couldn't have felt nearly enough guilt - especially without a god around - to end up blighted like this.

She has to focus on the Borderline wall, though... Just in case. That's how the others will find her when they show up.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Unlike Kairi, Chikusa doesn't really care much about the soulless herself. He's thinking on larger terms, in place behind Kairi as he occasionally looks back to see if either Hakkai or Izumo have gotten here yet.]

I wonder if it was really an ayakashi.... And if it was, where it is now, and how much of a threat it is...

[reformedsinner]

[Blight spreads, Hakkai knows: and once it's bad enough, it spreads quickly. He runs.

When he arrives, though, the young woman is still alive, despite the purple blight spreading across her skin and giving it the glistening texture of an ayakashi's body. Kairi is keeping her pinned behind a borderline, with Chikusa standing behind Kairi's shoulder.

He breathes deeply, and slows to a brisk walk as he crosses towards the two of them from the door.]

How is she doing?

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo doesn't waste much time to head over to the temple.

(Whether or not he's aware Goten is following him isn't really much of a concern—Goten can handle himself.)

As soon as he arrives, he's quick to assess the situation, seeing the soulless shinki and the way the blight is slowly covering her body. He's quick to join the others. He tucks his hands into his pockets, suddenly craving for a cigarette.]

We'll need to get rid of that blight soon.

[sonofson]

[With their meet up cut short, not by Izumo's work but from a call from Kairi, Goten can't help but be curious to what is going on especially with as quickly as Izumo departs. He should just go home to Aymeric but...what if Kairi or Izumo need help?

It's not long after that thought that he trails after Izumo, keeping high in the air.

It's upon arrival that Goten gapes down at the scene below him. Familiar faces, minus Chikusa, and a weird looking shinki girl on her knees looking worse for ware. How does she have so many eyeballs? He floats down, just over head of the group.]

That doesn't...look like any blight I've seen before!

[pure_radiantics]

[At first, all Kairi focuses on is standing up to address Hakkai.]

You'll have to talk to Chikusa about that - he knocked her out with something. If you know a ritual, we should be fine to do it right here. Luckily the other Soulless are-

[That's when Goten appears.]

GOTEN! No, you can't be here! Please, we got in enough trouble before! This is dangerous and we need to focus.

[She's about ready to call Nimbus and see if it'll listen to her to take Goten away.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Hakkai's arrival has Chikusa shifting to make room for the more experienced shinki, and there's only a passing glance at the person he assumes must be Izumo. He thinks he's seen him on the BBS.... Well. It doesn't really matter.]

It's not knocking out.... exactly... but it should have robbed her of energy.... [A considering tilt down of his head.] And possibly slowing the blight, but that.... might have just been wistful thinking. I didn't get close enough to really confirm it one way or the other...

[It'll sure as hell be useful if it's true, however.]

[Before he can do much else- such as ask Hakkai for clarification on the ritual he mentioned over the phone- Kairi is yelling and Chikusa takes a couple of shuffling steps away from her. Oh. So. The little kid isn't supposed to be here.]

[reformedsinner]

[Goten is here? Following him or Izumo? Hakkai's not sure which, not having taken the time to ensure he wasn't being followed, but in either case, he doesn't trust the boy's borderline to hold up indefinitely, not yet. Goten can fight, though, and his chi attacks could be useful if this poor girl loses her battle. He sharpens his tone to cut through the sudden outburst of yelling.]

Goten. You will stay back and support us if we fail to cleanse her. Kairi, we don't have time for shouting. Have you tried cleansing her with water?

[It's bad, he thinks, looking at one of the eyes popping out on the girl's neck. It looks back at him, swivelling hungrily in its socket to rake across all five of the shinki standing near. It's much worse than any blight he's ever seen on himself, but part of her still remains herself. Perhaps, if it's just from an ayakashi attack, she can be saved without having to try an ablution.]

Mission 04: Kairi, Roxas, and Sora go after an ayakashi in the Far Shore

[pure_radiantics]

[She gets home over an hour after she and Chikusa left for a walk. It shouldn't have been anything special. She just wanted to talk to him and he was such an introvert that she thought maybe being away from the temples of both of their gods would help him open up. She never imagined what they'd stumble into.

So when she gets back, she looks for Roxas and Sora immediately - at least to tell them what happened and why she's looking a little shaken. It turned out okay, so she's not terribly upset. It was just a lot to think about, since she hasn't had much interaction with Soulless shinki up until now.]

[oathkeeper]

[Sora will run into her first and Sora immediately looks concerned at how shaken she looks.]

Kairi? Are you okay?

[He doesn't know much about the work Kairi had done with the others.]

[pure_radiantics]

Well, no not really... I was just out walking with Chikusa a little bit ago... We think there's an ayakashi somewhere out by the Soulless Shinki temple!

[She starts looking around a bit.]

Is Roxas around? Maybe if the three of us go look - you two can teleport and I can borrow Nimbus for a bit... maybe we can find it before it hurts another Soulless Shinki? Oh gosh I'll just text him--

[And she starts pulling out her phone as she finishes her ramble.]

[oathkeeper]

An ayakashi near a Souless Shinki Temple??

[Sora looks a little confused. He didn't even know there was a Souless Shinki Temple. But if there's shinki in trouble, he's there.]

He's just in the other room, but yeah if there's an ayakashi near a temple we've got to check it out. Have you been there before, then?

[pure_radiantics]

I just came from there - Chikusa and I were out walking, and we stopped by there.

[She hopes Roxas can hear her at this point because she's not trying to conceal anything, just only have to explain it once.]

There was a soulless shinki that was blighted really badly - Chikusa thought to call Hakkai, who said there was something we could try called an ablution. We had to call another shinki powerful enough to do it though, so Izumo came too. During all of that, the soulless shinki spoke to us!

[This is news to her. They seemed really reserved and dour, not the talking type.]

She said that an ayakashi had attacked her and her god here in the Far Shore somewhere! And when she couldn't protect her god, he unnamed her, and she was so sad over it that the blight happened...

[missingache]

[Roxas does indeed hear them talking and he comes out. He'd felt how upset she'd been, but it was Kairi, and girls always seemed to feel things so much more strongly than boys. Which... might be a bad way to approach his shinki most of the time. Sorry, Kairi.]

Hm? What are you guys talking about?

[He's going to need a summary at least.]

[pure_radiantics]

[In Kairi's case at least, he's not wrong. But she takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.]

There's an ayakashi somewhere in the Far Shore. I know because it attacked a soulless shinki and her god. I was hoping we could find it before it hurt anyone else, or caused any more shinki to feel as badly as the soulless shinki did about not being able to protect her god. She was so upset about it she needed an ablution. I... saw it happen to her.

[oathkeeper]

[He's heard bits and pieces of what ablutions are about. He can't even imagine the violent scene Kairi might have seen.]

Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find this thing and take it out before it can hurt any other gods or shinki!

[He looks at Roxas and then back to Kairi with a determined nod. Sora won't be able to rend it without his own shinki so these two would be the stars of the show. Actually, he's kind of looking forward to seeing that.]