[Closed]

[welcome_home]

Who: The Izanagi Household
When: backdated to waaaay back at the end of June >.>
Where: Izanagi Jingu
What: Nanako's had a Day...


[ It's late evening when Nanako gets back to her brother's Temple after a full day out trying to answer a Prayer. She lets herself in the front door and toes off her shoes before stepping up into the hall and crossing into the big open room that takes up most of the first floor of Souji's home.

Except her normal exuberance is missing and she looks drained and exhausted and after casting a tired look at the stairs, she decides that looks like too much work and goes to curl up on the couch in the living room instead, wrapping herself snugly about a pillow and clinging to it as if it was one of her stuffed animals.

She even forgets to call out that she's home, but as she's not sure who else is here at the moment, it doesn't really occur to her as she goes to huddle on the couch for a while instead. ]

Comments

[timeshields]

[Homura is out on the porch, looking over the hoard of cats that Souji's collected when she hears the door sliding open. She pads quietly over to the couch, looking over a... tired...(?) Nanako.

It doesn't take her long to leave and come back with a blanket, settling it over her.]

[welcome_home]

[ Her eyes open with a start when she feels the blanket settle around her and for a moment there's a start of fear in her eyes, but then she remembers she's home, she's in Souji's home, and the sight of Homura standing over her is more reassuring than anything else.

She wriggles down under the blanket a little more, half hiding under it as she blinks up at the other girl and tries to hide how jumpy she's feeling. ]

Oh! I didn't hear you come in.

[timeshields]

[She's quiet and concerned in her own sort of way. Her eyes are still sharp, watching how jumpy Nanako is.

She doesn't know where she went for the day.]

What happened?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako's fingers clutch at the edge of the blanket for a moment as she averts her gaze. ]

I... I tried to go answer a prayer.

[timeshields]

[Ah.

She can guess what this is about.]

It didn't go well...?

[welcome_home]

[ A hesitation before Nanako shakes her head. ]

No. I mean... it was just supposed to be an easy one. But when we got there, the place felt weird. And there was a big scary ayakashi there.

[timeshields]

[There's a flash of irritation.]

Who did you go with? Are you okay? Where was it?

[welcome_home]

Some friends. And yeah, I'm okay. It was at an orphanage. I was getting lots of prayers from the orphans there, so I went to check. I thought maybe they were just lonely or sad, but there was an ayakashi... I think it was pretending to be a parent or someone looking to give them a home, but it wasn't helping any of them, it just made everything sadder.

[ And she's maybe crying a little now, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes, because the emotions in that place had been so strong. ]

[timeshields]

[She has this very serious intent look on her face, but honestly she doesn't understand the problem here.

Nanako is okay, what does it matter what happens to the orphans? They don't matter to Homura.]

... I'm glad you're okay.

[welcome_home]

I am. [ She sniffles as she rubs her eyes, still clutching her pillow tightly. ] But we couldn't stop it. And the boy I was there to help got hurt. All we could do was scare it away, so it's still out there somewhere.

[timeshields]

["You matter far more than any random boy out there ever could." Is what she wants to say, but Nanako wouldn't want to hear something like that.]

You managed to make it leave them alone for a little while. That's something.

[welcome_home]

Yeah, but what if it comes back? Or what if it hurts someone else?

[ Nanako's still upset about that, especially on top of how scared she'd been herself. ]

[timeshields]

You are not responsible for everyone in the world. No one can stop everything.

[cuteshit]

[Kanji had lost most of the afternoon and evening to a project he'd started working on in his craft room-- or, more specifically, the room he'd been staying in since he'd arrived in the Heavens, although nobody who looked at it would have assumed that anyone actually slept in there. The futon was hidden by crafting supplies, with today's project leaving lots of loose, bright fabric in its wake.

Taking a break to grab something to eat seemed way overdue, but he finds himself derailed on the way to the kitchen when he spots Nanako, looking sleepy-eyed and distraught.]

Hey, you're back-- how come you didn't say anything?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako blinks open eyes to spot Kanji there and she pushes herself up into a sitting position to greet him, still clutching her pillow in a tight grip. ]

Sorry. I didn't know if anyone was home yet. I'm home? [ Better late than never?

Although it's pretty obvious she's not her typical cheerful self. ]

[cuteshit]

Welcome back.

[He offers her a lopsided smile, taking a detour from his route to the kitchen to drop into the seat beside her. His smile fades; he might not be the brightest guy around, but he knows people, and Nanako isn't exactly subtle about her feelings.]

What's wrong, Nanako-chan? Didn't go well?

[welcome_home]

[ The warm weight of him proves to be too inviting and after a moment, she flops over to use his thigh as a pillow, still clutching her pillow, her expression distressed. ]

No. It didn't.

[cuteshit]

[Kanji frowns, putting an arm around her shoulders as she huddles close.]

You wanna-- you wanna talk about it?

[welcome_home]

[ She soaks up the contact, because Kanji's another one who's always been good at making her feel warm and safe. Something she very much needed after today. ]

I went on a prayer today with some friends. It was just supposed to be an easy one, but when we got there... it wasn't.

[cuteshit]

[If Nanako were just a little bit older, Kanji would probably still be hesitant to get this close after so many years of keeping to himself-- but even before he'd found himself here, Nanako had become like a little sister to pretty much everyone on the Investigation Team.]

So you guys couldn't help the people that needed it.

[His frown pulls a little deeper.]

I know you tried your best, though. That's still important.

[welcome_home]

There was an ayakashi. [ Fingers curl in the side of his pants, gripping tight for a moment, because that had been one of the scariest parts. ] It was really big. I think it was there because the orphans were sad and lonely. We tried to fight it but it was too strong and one of the kids there got hurt before we could chase it away.

[cuteshit]

Shit.

[He should watch his language around her, he knows, but it just slips out, and he lets out a low sigh afterwards.]

Nanako-chan... I'm sorry.

[welcome_home]

I tried really hard. [ She gives a sad sigh, rubbing a fist at her eyes where more tears have welled up. ] Maybe I'm not a very good god after all.

[cuteshit]

Hey-- hey, don't say that!

[What happened wasn't her fault. He's not sure what to do when faced with the threat of tears, but his instinct is to hug her a little tighter.]

Doesn't mean you're a bad god. Sometimes-- I mean, people can try their best, but things can still go wrong. It ain't your fault.

[welcome_home]

[ She curls closer, trying to wipe the tears away before he notices. ]

But someone got hurt. I couldn't stop the bad spirit. I could only chase it away. What if it hurts someone else now?