Semi-Open

[killsthebuddha]

Who: Sanzo, Gojyo, Elsa, Hakkai, open to various others
What: Good boys watch the house.
When: 3/27
Where: Menrva's library.
Warnings: Swearing, threats of violence, stupid bickering, someone might get shot at???

Comments

OPEN to anyone that drops by the temple

[killsthebuddha]

[ Frankly, Sanzo didn't do mornings well to start with. Elsa and Hakkai meeting up with some people to go on some research trip doesn't draw the faintest suspicion or concern from him. It probably doesn't help that he's miserably hungover as well. If only for that, it's best that he's been left to his own devices.

It's somewhere nearer to noon than is reasonable that he feels close enough to human to get moving and get a feel for the situation he's found himself in. Menrva's temple is reasonably sized, it could certainly accomodate a decent number of the charity cases that that the goddess and her servant might favor. It's the library that appeals to him, however. There's an air to it that is immediately comfortable, mostly orderly shelves. Mostly.

He finds himself fussing with the exact order of a few texts early on, and he doesn't particularly mind. Through the day, he keeps himself busy. Systematically working his way through the library to pull a number of religious texts. Works with titles that strike him as familiar, texts of assorted religious traditions, and others are laid out in an area he's clearly claimed for himself.

It's a quiet day, but productive. Aside from an odd sense of unease that catches him off guard when he's not paying attention, it's relaxing to immerse himself in research. A saucer is set near his books, used as an impromptu ashtray. There's work to be done. ]

[cyberfly]

​[ Most of the morning is spent running errands on the Near Shore, stocking up the fridge at the house of Diana and maybe peeking into an arcade or two on the way back. Nagi has something small to eat around noon and then makes his way toward the library that Hakkai told him about last night.

He still remembers some of the conversations he had at the banquet. The long drinking session with that god didn't wipe his entire night into a blur, for which he is thankful.

He makes his way into the library, peering in tentatively. He's not sure if he's allowed to just walk right in. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ It takes him a bit longer than it should for Sanzo to realize that he's no longer alone. Or, at least, to acknowledge the tentative presence at the entrance to the library.

One of Hakkai's charity cases? Just a student?

Well, just ignoring the kid wouldn't solve this. He pushes up out of his seat to go greet the newcomer, likely not the most welcoming sight. ]

If you're looking for Hakkai or Elsa, they're out.

[cyberfly]

[ The library doesn't look especially modern. In fact, it's quite the opposite. And Hakkai was right, of course -- there are no computers here. But Nagi knows that that's going to change soon. And he also knows he'll be procuring a computer for himself very soon as well. But in the meantime, if he wants information, he has to look for it the old fashioned way. ]

He said I could stop by to take a look at the library.

[ Nagi says it with a stoic face. It doesn't really matter if Hakkai is here or not, so long as he's allowed to look around. ]

CLOSED

[killsthebuddha]

[ For a while there, Sanzo had lost track of time and he's startled when he realizes night has already fallen. It had been easy given the sheer overload of information, but one thing was certain. He's found himself in a position that he can't possibly accept, but perhaps he's been placed correctly to do something about it.

If not, some changes will have to be made. Either way, he's going to need to have a serious talk with Elsa and Hakkai.

He finds himself fidgeting one-handed with a battered yellow lighter, thumb tracing along ridges in the plastic as he leans on the balcony railing. He's abandoned the formality of his robes by now, letting them hang about his waist, and the Maten sutra is rolled up, tucked safely away. There is no doubt that there's a great deal wrong here, and the odds were unfairly stacked. If that ought to demoralize him, he surely doesn't know it.

No, he's not going to let anything block his way. ]

[arealhardnose]

[This wasn't how Elsa had envisioned coming home at the end of the day: clothes torn and bloodied, skin cut and bruised, only half her hair in the bun she'd tied it into this morning, a slight limp to her step. She'd thought, at best, there'd be scrapes and bruises that could easily be ignored by victory, the knowledge they were supposed to obtain down in Yomi-no-Kuni. Yet here she and Hakkai are, approaching the temple with their head down and their tail between their legs.

Everyone had been right to try and stop them from going. Everyone had been right to be afraid. Everyone had been right to tell them they might die or be stuck there for eternity. That's exactly what had almost happened, and now Hisoka is dead, and she blames herself for it. The last time she'd had a brilliant idea to get out from under someone's control, the result had been more or less the same. That proves she shouldn't do this anymore, she's got bad luck when it comes to escaping forced employment.

There's nothing she can think to say to Hakkai as they walk into the temple. Sanzo will probably be disappointed, angry, might ask to be released--]

Hakkai, if you want me to release you, I will. I-- I put us all in danger. Someone died. I'm-- [She purses her lips, shakes her head.] I was wrong.

[It's possible that Sanzo heard that. Right now, she's prepared for what he may have to say.]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai is walking to her left, putting Elsa on his blind side so that he can guard her. When she speaks at last, his head snaps to the side to bring her back into view.]

Do you want to release me?

[The failure wasn't just hers. The mistake wasn't just hers. Hakkai had supported the idea from the beginning. He hadn't expected to be lucky to escape with only one death.

He had expected the wounds, the bloodstains, the phantom ache up and down his arms as if the vines torn by hair had been a part of his skin. That seems perfectly normal after a battle. The other shinki's death, though....

It had been unexpected. He doesn't need to feel Elsa's emotions the way she can feel his to understand that she's blaming herself.]

I went of my own free will.

[arealhardnose]

No.

[It's selfish, but it's the truth, and she had told him he could rely on her. So she is honest now, as she has been since that night the rain wouldn't let him sleep.

She grasps her upper arm, fingertips finding the slash in her sleeve and pressing on the cut that has barely started to heal.]

You're right. You did. [Shaking her head again, she sighs.] And I'm glad for that. It would've been worse if you hadn't been there.

CLOSED

[killsthebuddha]

[ Sanzo doesn't actually get to reading as he'd suggested when he'd left the others to their own devices. A few cigarette butts are stubbed out in a saucer on a table with a spread of books covering a variety of religious topics, but Sanzo is by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and looking outside. He's hardly had any of the tea he'd been given, too preoccupied.

This is bigger than them. He thinks that this should bother him more, but it doesn't. It does, however, warrant some thought.

Just how were they going to move forward? She'd asked him, and now he was stuck with this. If he'd just ignored the two of them, it wouldn't have been a problem at all. It's too bad that minding his own business clearly didn't come naturally to him. ]

[reformedsinner]

[The heavy pall of cigarette smoke in the library makes Hakkai blink as he steps in. Has Sanzo been spending all day smoking in here?

He's still here, Hakkai realizes a moment later, a silhouette against the moonlight at one of the windows on the other side of the library. He considers the man for a long moment, lets out a breath that's just a little too quiet to be a sigh, and takes a seat in one of the wooden chairs by the book-strewn table. There are a few ashes escaping the edges of the saucer Sanzo's apparently commandeered as an ashtray; he dampens the tip of his finger with his tongue and scrubs them off the table before they stain a book.]

You really shouldn't smoke in the library. It gets into the books.

[killsthebuddha]

Hm?

[ For a moment there, he'd been lost in his thoughts. He glances over at Hakkai, parsing the statement belatedly. ]

Probably.

[ There's no denying something so factual. It clearly hadn't stopped him, though he hadn't smoked half as much as he felt today has warranted. Hakkai holds his attention instead of the sky now, though he doesn't move from his position by the window. ]

[reformedsinner]

Elsa does prefer you smoke outside.

[He doesn't pursue the argument, though, sitting back and sipping his tea instead. It is, unfortunately, lukewarm.

He watches Sanzo back.

It's really not as tranquil an atmosphere as he had been hoping for, even without worrying about what Elsa and Gojyo are saying to one another in the kitchen, and whether it's likely to end in the kind of fight he is in no mood to smooth over.]

You seem thoughtful.

CLOSED

[piphilologize]

[ Susano'o's temple is a sprawling traditional estate, certainly fit for someone carrying the title of one of the greater gods. If it weren't covered in strange, elaborate heaps of junk, it'd be particularly impressive. Scrap metal and twisted fragments of cars, street signs, and other goods form towering meaningless monuments. Each one is perfectly calculated and shockingly sturdy.

Sho's keeping himself busy near the entrance of his property, improving one of his earliest heaps. Occasionally, the god vanishes and reappears with some new chunk of debris that lands in place with a thunk or the screech of metal before he can fidget with it until everything is just perfect.

Why he's doing it while wearing nothing more than a hat and black board shorts is going to have to be a mystery for the ages. With as heavily tattooed as he is, Susano'o the storm god is an especially unusual sight by any metric. ]

[erogappa]

[ You'll know it when you see it, the guy had said, and Gojyo supposed that what he was seeing had to be it. It looked like a nice enough place underneath, but what was up with all the garbage? It was hard to imagine Goku living here... or at least, living here and not knocking everything over.

Heh. Bet one of those towers would make a hell of a crash when it fell.

But then Gojyo spots the guy working on the piles of crap, and strides over toward him with a wave. ]

Yo. You th'god of this place?

[piphilologize]

[ Sho skids halfway his heap, stopping at an elevation still higher than his visitor. He grins in a distinctly unfriendly gesture, more an excuse to bare sharp fangs than anything else. ]

So who's asking, redheaded radian?

[erogappa]

[ That's a seriously unfriendly grin. Gojyo raises an eyebrow, tucking his cigarette into the corner of his mouth and regarding the man -- and his mess -- with undisguised disdain. There's no way this is Goku's god. He's probably just another of the shinki servants. ]

What th'fuck is a radian?

03/28, early evening

[erogappa]

[ The sun isn't quite down when Gojyo heads out for Minrva's place again, a couple bottles of wine from his house's overwhelmingly stuffed wine cellars clinking in a plastic grocery bag draped over one shoulder.

He's more than a little nervous about the conversation he's committed to here. He still doesn't know how much Minrva knows about him and the others, and he's wary about bringing anything up. They're dead, okay, this is heaven, their mission is over, but it still doesn't feel right to talk about it with anyone. Maybe it won't come up, though? He can hope.

He hopes Hakkai and Sanzo won't be there either.

Heading up to the front of the house, he pauses, lights a cigarette, and knocks loudly on the frame. ]

[arealhardnose]

[It's not quite a shopping trip, but Elsa figures that sendinf Hakkai and Sanzo to check on the Menrva shrines on the Near Shore is probably good enough to give her and Gojyo time to talk. Or rather, time for her to ask Gojyo all the questions she has about Hakkai and Sanzo, about Goku, too, since he features in both their memories. She has no idea why the Heavens would do this, put together two shinki who were so close in life, and risk them discovering something that they shouldn't, but here they are.

And here she is, charged with taking care of them.

The knocking draws her out of that line of though, and she goes to the front door to greet Gojyo and lead him inside, to what amounts to a back porch. There are two chairs and a little table ready for them, and a tray of fruits flanked by tall glasses of water and two empty wine glasses.]

Hakkai and Sanzo should be out for an hour or two. Please make yourself comfortable.

[erogappa]

[ The back porch is a welcome sight. She's such a fancy lady that he was a little concerned that she'd, what, lead him into the drawing room and give him scones or something. As it is, the restaurant-nice setup is already putting him off-balance... but it only makes sense, he reminds himself. If Hakkai's living here, then it would have to be a nice and proper house. ]

Here, you do th'same. [ --he grins, handling over the plastic bag. There's about five or six full-size bottles in there, some in a modern green or clear glass style, one squat little handblown one that he's pretty sure is the weird gross raisony liquor made from wine (he'll never be a fan of brandy, sorry), and a beautifully embellished rose glass bottle with a brilliant golden wine that makes the whole thing look sunset-colored. It's not quite a dry red, but she won't be able to say he didn't make an effort!

He drops into the nearer of the two chairs, and immediately pulls out a cigarette. ]

So how do you want t'do this?

3/29, afternoon

[konobakazaru]

[It isn't every day that Goku is rewarded with food for helping out with chores on the Near Shore. Usually it's money - and that's why he does it, so he can buy his own snacks - but today! Today, he was rewarded with an entire bag of oranges. He'd helped an old half-blind guy that lived by himself by getting his garden in shape for planting, and he walked away from it with a super awesome payment! Mostly because there was no way the guy was going to be able to eat them all before they went bad, but still.

He could totally sit here and eat all of these oranges himself. He really could. Or he could bring the whole gigantic bag and share it with his friends! That could be fun, too.

He can still save some for Picowatt. And for Sho, as long as Sho isn't a jerk.

The bag weighs a good four or five kilos or so, but it's no problem at all for Goku! It's got a strap on it and everything, so it's slung over his shoulder like a satchel. He doesn't like just letting himself in, though, but. Well. He kinda is anyway. Time to look for whoever's around!]

Re: 3/29, afternoon

[reformedsinner]

Goku?

-- Oh my, where did you get all of those?

[Hakkai had been heading to the library, but the sight of the young man with -- that must be half a bushel of oranges over his shoulder -- turns him right around to head back towards Goku.]

[konobakazaru]

[Oh!]

Hey, Hakkai!

[At the mention of the oranges, Goku shifts the weight of the bag on his shoulder, turning just enough to show the bag off.]

I got these for doin' chores. It's a lot, an' I could probably eat it myself, but I thought I'd see if you guys wanted some, too!

3/28, late evening

[reformedsinner]

[Dinner has been eaten, the dishes have been washed and put up to dry, and Hakkai is going in search of Elsa.

She'd told him earlier that she didn't want to talk about the reason her knuckles were cut and bruised. She'd been quiet and distracted ever since. As far as he was concerned, it was now time for her to feel like talking about it; something was very wrong, and as her lead shinki, Hakkai needed to know.

He steps into her study, looking around for -- ah. Yes. Excellent.]

Elsa. I'd like to talk.

[arealhardnose]

[After dinner, Elsa had retreated into her study. What happened with Gojyo's power today had been bad enough, but Hakkai's muted disapproval of her silence on the matter buzzes at the back of her mind. (At least Sanzo's approach helps her -- just move on from it.)

It's not the most helpful thing, but as she sits in an armchair, trying to read a book, she keeps going over the things that Gojyo told her. Hakkai's scar, Sanzo's aversion to being touched, Goku's possible former godhood, the nature of Sanzo's killer.

Hakkai's voice doesn't startle her, but Elsa's shoulders tense anyway. Of course he'd come find her. With any luck, he'll want to talk about something other than this evening.]

Yes, come in. How were things on the Near Shore today?

[Deflectong probably won't work, but she'll try.]

[reformedsinner]

Everything seems to be running smoothly at your temples. I stopped by a computer shop on the way back, and it seems we'll need to fundraise if we're going to afford one for the school any time soon....

[He moves quietly across the study until he pauses by her chair, reaching over to place a finger on the spine of the book and tilt it until her swollen knuckles are visible in the light from the lamp.]

You've had a few hours to relax. I don't suppose you're willing to talk about what happened now?