thenearshore | red ghost moon

[After that ordeal with Chikusa and finally getting rid of those jellyfish ayakashi, Johan's decided to check out for himself at this high school.

It doesn't really take much for him to get there, but then he hears a familiar voice, one that nearly sends him running.

What is Fubuki doing here? He skids to a stop, staring a bit in bemusement just as Fubuki suddenly speed walks by him.]

Fubuki?

[Grab this guy's arm as he goes past, good good...]

Ah—Johan? [He lets go.] Run away with me.

[He's sending Shun a text with his other hand so his attention is divided and so he doesn't notice what that sounds like. The next thing he says should clear that up, though—]

Is your shinki with you?

[The three jellyfish bob behind in friendly greeting.]

[He's been grabbed and now running away.

Johan glances back at the ayakashi.]

No, he isn't.

[Actually, he doesn't know where Sakon is, but that's not important right now.]

What were you doing?

Taking a walk. [It wasn't his fault, please believe him]

[He wouldn't have thought to ask that question himself, but since Johan had brought it up first, that is a thing, isn't it?] And you, what were you doing here?

[The five jellyfish continue their pursuit of jellyfish-hugs.]

I came to check out the situation.

[The last thing he expected was for Fubuki to be here.

He glances back at the jellyfish, wondering if he should summon a Duel Monster, but that's...Who knows if that might end up triggering something in Fubuki?]

But it seems like I came out to help out the damsel in distress first.

Eh— [He ~~resembles~~ resembles that comment...]

You might be right, there...

[The seven jellyfish continue their joyful bobbing dance.]

Speaking of which...I think I should stop moving. [He turns around and starts a borderline. Like always, he keeps going after the first line and makes a rectangle. Which seems to hold, until the nine jellyfish brush up gently against it and the border goes down in about three seconds flat.]

...Let's keep moving.

[Johan shakes his head and sorry, he's summoning Cobalt Eagle.

It screeches, sending strong winds to blow the jellyfish back, but it lets out a startled squawk when suddenly, more appear.]

You did call your god to come, right?

[More...birds. This one's not going to eat him, right?]

Yeah, I did.

[And...this isn't exactly the time, but something occurred to him, and he steps closer to Johan so he can lower his voice.] Hey...can I ask you a favor? Don't tell him about that thing.

[Which is as good as an admission of wrongdoing if he felt guilty about keeping his tea-search a secret, but he doesn't.]

[No worries, Fubuki. Cobalt Eagle doesn't like the taste of humans.

He glances at him, slightly curious and somewhat concerned. 'That thing'? Ah, when they went tea shop hopping.

He gives a nod.]

I won't.

[Thankfully, if there's one thing Shun can be relied upon for, it's answering distress texts in a timely fashion. He's noticed the jellyfish before on his patrols, and has mostly been keeping an eye on the situation up to now, but it does at least mean he knows where to go without having to take time searching for where Fubuki means.

Less necessary is probably the part where his initial teleportation arrival is onto a second-floor windowsill, from which he hurls himself down into a gap in the ayakashi pack, but nobody ever said they called Shun for subtle extractions.

It's a little hard to see what's happening from outside the jellyfish line initially, but one after another, they emit bizarre noises of pain and scatter - not destroyed, but clearly licking their wounds at least briefly, and discouraged from holding the crowd they'd been bearing down in. As Shun reaches the last line before Fubuki and Johan, the sight of two blades slashing through the insubstantial forms of the ayakashi becomes clear, and once that last handful of them scatters, he straightens up. In one hand is his dagger, in the other an extremely short sword that seems to be very faintly glowing with some kind of coating, and both of them are definitely wet with what looks like plain water.

With a faint sigh, Shun reverses his grip on both weapons, so the blades are aiming behind him rather than at Fubuki and Johan. He's only just recently started dual-wielding and wouldn't trust himself to do it against an actual opponent, but against vaguely drifting jellyfish, he can manage.]

This place has been infested for days. You shouldn't have come here without me in the first place. [Though he gives a brief incline of the head in recognition to Johan, the remark and accompanying sharp glare are obviously directed at Fubuki.]

Thank—hm?

[Is that... Yeah, it is. ...How does Shun keep increasing his weapons, anyway?]

I didn't do it on purpose. [But telling him that Fubuki had just wandered over without paying attention isn't an option, either. For one thing, he shouldn't have been not paying attention in the first place...]

[And his borderlines had failed so easily, too. Damsel in distress...describes him perfectly... (Sobbing.)]

I just...happened to pass by...

[He glances up at the eagle.] Johan, you can stay safe as long as your bird doesn't let them get close, right? [Because, if Fubuki can't borderline, they won't have a safe border against the brood...]

[Johan tenses a bit in surprise at the sudden entrance, blinking wildly upon seeing Shun.

Shun--

Shun is Fubuki's god?

For whatever reason, Johan feels like he should've known, but the pressing matter are the ayakashi and even though he's very impressed with Shun's entrance of slicing them, it doesn't seem to deter more of them from gathering.]

Does he do this sort of thing often? [The question is mostly directed at Shun.

He glances at Fubuki before he looks at Cobalt Eagle, seeing his Spirit circling above them before occasionally stopping to blow the jellyfish back.]

Yeah, I'll be fine.

[The way Shun squints at Fubuki after that bit of excuse-making pretty much speaks for how much he trusts that's actually true, but when he's not counting on the ayakashi staying down for maybe a minute at best, it's not really the thing to focus on here. He does, however, answer Johan's question with a rather dry tone.]

Often enough. [First the forest incident, now this, and that's not getting onto the topic of Fubuki's irrational (to Shun) fear of the temple vultures. In any case, if Johan's bird can be trusted to keep the jellyfish away from him for the moment, then it's about time Shun returns to the subject at hand.

So after a brief moment of looking over Cobalt Eagle, his attention turns back to Fubuki.]

We might as well get rid of them while they're still recovering, if you're ready.

I don't do it on purpose... [But with him not being able to explain why he is here, that...misconception will probably have to stand. And anyway, was Shun counting the incident in the forest, too? That wasn't his fault, either! Johan, don't believe this man's lies!!]

[Outwardly, he only says—] As ready as I'll ever be.

[He isn't really looking forward to entering vessel form, but that's just one of those things that can't be helped.]

Johan. This might not be that useful, but... [He creates a double line separating Johan from the jellyfish. It'll fail just as easily as the other one, most likely, but it might buy a little more time.] Just in case.

[Too late, Fubuki. Johan's a little inclined to believe Shun at the moment.

He looks at them, a little curious.

Is he going to be able to see Fubuki's vessel form? But then Fubuki's creating another Borderline, two of them this time, and Johan just. Calls Cobalt Eagle a little closer to him, the Monster hovering above the three of them protectively.]

Be careful. [Even if he doubts that the shinki's lines would hold.]

[It's not a huge shock that Fubuki doesn't seem all that happy with the prospect of entering his vessel form, given Shun can't imagine it's that pleasant an experience. Still, he brings his weapons back to the front as if to remind him they're there.]

I should only need your power for the final blows, if you're worried. [This is really their first fight on this scale as god and shinki, but the rending process isn't too difficult anyway, so Fubuki should be fine as far as Shun knows.

As he waits for Fubuki to put up that line, Shun inclines his head slightly to Johan.]

Stay out of the way. Having to worry about what I'm hitting just complicates things. [Being able to just point himself at something and tear it down to its foundations is much easier.

Once Fubuki is done, Shun turns to face him, looking him straight in the eyes.] Then, Yamiki, it's time for battle.

[There's a faint stress on the vessel name, serving as the call for him to change forms rather than just the mere statement of the title.]

[Even forewarned, it isn't...pleasant. There's the sensation of being swallowed up by something, followed by a feeling almost like passing out. When he comes to, still himself, he has to take a second to steady himself. And hope that it isn't noticeable. He can only imagine what they would say if they found out how hard he finds this...]

I wasn't worried about the fighting, really...

[Very suddenly, awareness of an enemy shoots through his mind. He looks up and— No, that's just Johan's bird. He crushes down the niggling feeling and focuses on the task at hand.]

Shun, that's kind of rude to Johan, isn't it? He's a god, too.

[Nag nag. But while he's saying that, a few unstunned jellyfish come bobbing up in the direction the mask is facing. He gives them a stern look and they start bumbling about like they're drunk.]

[If Johan was even the least bit hardheaded, he'd argue with Shun on that, but nope.

He knows when and where to fight his battles, and since he hasn't called Sakon, he'd figured it's best to leave it to the actual god and shinki pair at the moment.]

I'll leave it to you two then.

[Though, seeing Fubuki's vessel for is a bit...disconcerting.

There's something eerie about how that mask looked, though, that has him eying it briefly before he decides to turn his attention away. Cobalt Eagle retreats enough so that it hovers protectively over Johan, but giving enough room for Shun and Fubuki to Rend the ayakashi.]

[There's a short nod from Shun to recognise Johan's agreement, but beyond that, he doesn't respond. The quicker the ayakashi are destroyed, the sooner they can all leave, and speaking for the sake of niceties doesn't help that. So as soon as the mask that is Fubuki's vessel settles on his face, he starts to move.

...And then the distraction starts. "Nag nag" is definitely just about how Shun interprets that statement, and despite the fact that he knows it'll sound weird when Johan can't hear Fubuki's side of the conversation, he lets out a mildly annoyed hiss as he brings out his blessed water-soaked blades again and slashes through one of the disoriented jellyfish.]

Complain when we're done. You have more important things to focus on. [And as if having timed that statement to the successful weakening of the ayakashi, Shun chooses exactly that moment to pin the first jellyfish in their sights and push the force of his will into the vessel. It's bizarre and admittedly a little bit frustrating having to rend with something that can't actually be used as a weapon - it looks more like they're trying to co-operatively glare down the jellyfish - but Joker's vessel had been a weird one too, and yet the combination of their powers had always manifested in some way to let them rend successfully.]

[The distance isn't right, but... A wave of pressurized air (or is it air-like pressure? who knows) shoots out from the mask, obliterating the weakened jellyfish.]

[Despite how it looks, it doesn't cause any recoil because Fubuki is a pro. (That's his story and he's sticking to it.)]

That's no good. You're both bird-owners, so you should get along!

[Why is he being so chatty? Well he can't talk to the enemy now, can he? His taunting is restricted to stern looks in this form!]

[Buuut, if there is an advantage to this form, it's that he can see things, so he checks to make sure his borderlines are holding up and that the jellyfish aren't swarming up on Johan.]

[Johan's a bit amused as he listens to Shun. He knows it's not directed at him, so he doesn't bother responding to it.

Rather, he keeps an eye on the jellyfish since they seem to be gathering now, slowly growing larger in number.

Cobalt Eagle doesn't seem at all pleased with that, about ready to intervene but holding back when Johan gives it a subtle head shake. Right now, it's all up to Shun and Fubuki to rend those.]

[...At this point, Shun's kind of hoping he doesn't get into any particularly long fights with Fubuki, because if he keeps making remarks like that Shun's going to end up figuratively beating his head against a wall by a few minutes in.

Flipping backwards from the ayakashi they just got rid of, Shun launches himself at the next closest one, stabbing both blades into it this time and pulling them back out as the ayakashi twitches and deforms briefly in apparent pain. It looks like enough weakening for him, so he lines it up in their sights again and pushes forth his will once more.]

What difference does owning birds make? [This is definitely an incredibly weird conversation to be only hearing one side of, but right now, Shun's more focused on the increasing numbers of ayakashi. Maybe if they can rend more than one at a time, or at least find a way to weaken them all enough that it can be done in sequence...

With that thought, he glances back to Johan.]

Can one of your monsters herd them into a line? [He likely wouldn't have used that wording had he known Fubuki's circumstances, but technicolour animals with weird gems on them still count as monsters in the general sense, probably.]

[Unfortunately for Shun, while rending shuts him up while he's doing it, afterward is another matter. You see, Shun, that eagle is obviously an attack bird and the vultures are defense birds, and—]

Ohh. Good thinking!

[He completely glosses over the wording, because calling that bird a "(M)onster" is totally natural, why do you ask? He's already suppressing other feelings at the moment, so another one isn't too noticeable.]

With this size...five deep should be the limit, I think.

[He's just making it up when he says "size," by the way. It just feels right.]

[If only he's aware of what kind of conversation they're having because clearly, hearing one side is enough to cause enough misunderstandings that it warrants an almost confused look from Johan.

If it weren't for the fact that talking to his Duel Spirits already makes him seem like he's lost his mind, he'd have thought that Shun would have lost his.

He can feel Cobalt Eagle's initial dislike at being referred to as a 'monster', but Johan nods.]

Yeah, they can. [A glance at Cobalt Eagle has the Crystal Beast taking off again, herding the jellyfish into a line.]

[Thankfully, Fubuki switching to strategy talk makes for a much less ridiculous half-conversation, and Shun inclines his head subtly even if the effect is somewhat lost when Fubuki is on his face rather than somewhere he can actually see Shun make that motion.]

Five is fine. It'll still speed things up, especially if we can do it in sequence. [With the first two rended, there's probably about fifteen of the jellyfish left hanging around now, and picking them off one by one would just get frustrating after long enough of it.

As Cobalt Eagle works on lining up the jellyfish, Shun brings his swords in again and instead focuses on drawing out his godly power, as if he were casting out a net. The first five jellyfish herded in by Cobalt Eagle start to flail again as their forms distort and shred at the edges, as if they're being disintegrated, and since Shun's already looking in that direction because of it, he simply shifts the focus of his will from his own godly power to channeling through Fubuki as a vessel to aim at those five.]

Let's see how this works. [He presumes the surface decay will serve as enough of a weakening to rend them successfully, because otherwise this is going to be a lot more annoying.]

[It takes longer to rend five at once, and the wave comes out more as a beam than a blast this time, but eventually the last one is gone.]

Seems to work fine—

[—one of his borderlines just went down. He makes another one in that direction; hasty and haphazard, it kind of doesn't go right or last long, but the jellyfish that got caught in it is shunted a bit to the side, and there's a small wound if one looks very carefully.]

Come to think of it...if the eagle is busy, who's covering Johan?

[Fubuki can try, but... borderlines are hard okay]

[When the jellyfish broke through one of Fubuki's borderlines, Johan instinctively takes a step back.

Cobalt Eagle lets out a screech, almost ready to head back over to Johan, but stops when he shakes his head. It's enough to have the Duel Monster continue to work on herding the jellyfish for Shun and Fubuki.

Johan eyes the jellyfish that got close to the borderline, and this time Topaz Tiger comes out, standing in front of him protectively.]

[It's not a particularly effective borderline, and Shun notes that - maybe it's worth getting in touch with Yukine sometime and seeing if he might give Fubuki some pointers. When Fubuki doesn't have much going for him combatively, he'd at least like him to be able to defend himself effectively.

Since Shun's seen Johan with multiple monsters out before, he hadn't really been too concerned with his situation, and sure enough, by the time he glances back, Topaz Tiger is already on defense. Even so, Shun veers back in that direction to slash out at the straying jellyfish and level the rending gaze and will at it - he might as well kill it while he's here rather than just chase it back to the group.]

He can take care of himself. Focus on this and you won't have to worry about him. [Glancing back to Johan, he goes on.] There's only nine left. If you can keep the eagle herding them for two more sets of rending, it'll be over quicker.

[Ah, yes, a white tiger. That's a natural thing to come out, after the...bird...?]

[Because of the sense of danger from a moment ago, he has to narrow his focus when he turns his attention to rend, and that steadies him a bit. Enough for certain realizations to become clearer when he's not dismissing them immediately, one of them being that he's noticed the way Johan had communicated with the eagle—looks and gestures too small to be effective without getting its attention first. These...must be Johan's invisible friends.]

[...And to stop thinking about it, he turns and quickly counts the jellyfish. Like Shun said, there are nine of them, and... He has no idea when the others started creeping up on him, but there was only one at first, so hopefully there won't be any more...]

Shun, ask Johan if his eagle can see any more from up high?

[How does he know Johan can talk to the eagle like that? He doesn't know, he's just rolling with it.]

Cobalt Eagle can keep it up.

[Cobalt Eagle lets out a huffing sound. "Of course I can keep this up."

It continues to work on herding the jellyfish for Shun while Topaz Tiger makes some kind of sound that has Johan holding back a smile. Instead, Topaz Tiger just shifts, stance protective in case another jellyfish wanders close to him again.

Johan allows his attention to be caught briefly, glancing at the mask on Shun's face, wondering briefly how Fubuki is reacting to these Duel Monsters, but it's quick to disappear as he keeps an eye on the jellyfish again.]

[With Cobalt Eagle still herding, Shun's trying to focus on that to get this done as quickly as possible, but Fubuki's request is a logical enough one that Shun briefly turns his attention back once there's a sufficient amount of jellyfish herded to rend another five.]

Can it see any other ayakashi headed this way, or is it just these last few? [Without waiting for an answer, he turns his attention back to the line in front of him, extending his power outwards again and tearing at their forms as much as he can without actually touching them. It means he can't go any deeper than the surface, but that's all he really needs for this, and it wouldn't be worth the blight anyway.

With that out of the way, he drives his will into the vessel once more, the combination of powers feeling almost rehearsed now that they've done it a few times. If there's one thing Shun prides himself on, it's adapting quickly.]

[Another batch down. Making good progress!]

[Quick overview of things he's learned today: his vessel ability (he's going to go ahead and assume that that's what it was) makes things stumble, Shun's decay works at a distance, Johan has a tiger. A pet tiger. That's a reasonable invisible friend. Very...advantageous... Especially when it gets hungry?]

[...HEY LOOK his second borderline just went down. At least it isn't a problem this time...]

[Teal eyes flicker to Cobalt Eagle before he looks back at Shun.]

It's just these last few.

[And speaking of, Cobalt Eagle finishes herding the last few to Shun in the mean time.

Johan sees the second borderline go down, but fortunately, Topaz Tiger knocks back a jellyfish before it gets too close to Johan and just. Sort of knocks it in Shun's direction to rend along with the others.]

[If Cobalt Eagle can only see these last few, then this should be the last batch they need to rend, and Shun gives a curt nod before turning his attention back to the newly grouped jellyfish.]

Then let's finish it.

[It's almost habitual, how smoothly the sequence goes now - decay, then send forth the will to rend them. He doesn't want to risk letting one escape when they're down to the last pack, so Shun focuses his full attention on the jellyfish this time as the rending is performed. The repeated rending in groups is somewhat draining when he hasn't been able to practice anything like this before, but he keeps his gaze level, and no sign of the loss of energy shows on his face.]

[So this is probably an odd time to realize that he can adjust the wave a little bit. Might be why he keeps thinking the distance is weird...maybe not. Either way, the wind-beam is just slightly wider this time, but all the same, the jellyfish go bye-bye in about the same amount of time.]

[No casualties. He's going to call that a success. What these things were doing near a school is another matter, but...he can guess... (What he was doing near a school is a matter completely separate from the other matters.) (By which he only means he's going to stop taking walks for a while.) (...Probably.)]

Is everyone alright?

[All, uh...five of them?]

[When Shun rends that last batch of jellyfish, Cobalt Eagle flaps its wings one last time before moving to land beside Johan. It preens when Johan scratches its crest, thanking it while Topaz Tiger eyes Shun a bit more.

At a nod from Johan, the two Monsters disappear from sight.

He looks over at Shun, at the mask adorning his face and asks:]

You guys okay?

[Shun takes a moment to answer that question from both of them, instead taking the mask off his face to scan over the area without it obstructing his vision. Once he's satisfied that Cobalt Eagle's previous report of seeing no other ayakashi was accurate, he turns back to Johan, mask held in both hands.]

Don't ask stupid questions. [Obviously an answer worth waiting for. Once that's cleared up, Shun's attention turns down to the mask.] And you can tell him yourself, Tenjoin Fubuki.

[Again, there's that subtle addition to the mention of the name, as if it's a command more than just a remark.]

[LAND ON HIS FEET. STRAIGHTEN. TURN AROUND WITH A THUMBS-UP AND A WINK.] I'm fine.

[Especially since he didn't pass through that weird feeling he gets when entering vessel form. Small mysteries, but he can't say he isn't grateful.]

[The brief glance he throws Shun's way when he folds his arms after his ~~DRAMATIC (RE-)ENTRANCE~~ posing is slightly judgemental, because it's not like Shun's made a habit of telling him when he's not alright even if people didn't ask, but he looks away just as quickly.]

How about you, Johan? [He's sorry about his borderlines.] ...And friends?

[....

Somehow, Johan isn't really surprised by Shun's answer. He always did strike out to Johan as someone who'd rather not pay attention to his own weakness and admit it.

But then his attention is quickly caught by Fubuki. There's a blink, once more remembering that these two are god and shinki and--

....Damn it.

He looks back at Fubuki, smiling.]

We're all fine. Seems like you two are alright. [Which is a relief, but now he wonders if he would have to talk to Shun now about this...]

[Fubuki's overly dramatic return to human form gets a significant raise of an eyebrow from Shun, the rest of his face remaining remarkably impassive as if to accentuate that particular detail. Once he's done returning the judgement, though, he gives a faint snort in answer to Johan's remark.]

Not hurt, but next time I see Yukine I'm asking him to teach you how to draw a borderline that lasts more than five seconds. [Obviously, the remark is aimed at Fubuki - Shun can't really guarantee Yukine would agree to that even if he asked, but he might at least be able to get some advice out of him.

On the other hand, it's a Saturday, and since the immediate threat is gone, Shun crosses his arms with a glance over the two of them.] I have an engagement in a little while. Unless anyone has anything to add, I'll be going.

[Fubuki might know what engagement he means, given his training with Ren has been on the same schedule for most of the time Fubuki's lived with him, but that doesn't mean he has to go into detail without being asked.]

That's good. [If they're invisible, how can Johan tell—erk, maybe that's a conversation for another day; it was...mostly fine today, what with everything else going on, but considering what happened the last time Johan's invisible friends came up, he has to be sure of himself first.]

[To that end...]

[Hey, his borderlines do last more than five seconds!! ...They just can't withstand anything, but details.] Uh—sure...

[Anyway, to that end, he should...] I'll continue keeping an eye out here. [His walk has been upgraded to a patrol. Don't question it.] See you later!

[Johan can't help but look a little amused upon seeing their interaction. Any doubt he had is definitely gone by that. He's not sure how close the two of them are, but Fubuki being Shun's shinki seems to have worked out.

It doesn't help that Johan can hear Ruby appear beside him, eyes flickering to where she's perched on his shoulder, invisible to all, before he looks back at Shun and nods.]

See you then.

[Don't let him keep you.

Though, he looks back over at Fubuki.] How about try to stay away from areas infested with ayakashi next time?

I was about to say the same thing. [Even if Shun's on his way out, he has time enough to throw that remark back to Fubuki.] If you manage to get yourself in trouble twice in one day, I'll just send the vultures to help next time.

[On one hand, that would probably be a significant help anyway. On the other, Shun knows exactly how Fubuki feels about the vultures.

But he doesn't really have anything more to say than that, so with the warning, he inclines his head slightly before turning away and simply vanishing into thin air once more.]

[Vul— SOS he's being threatened SOS Maybe he should rethink that (newly rebranded) patrol...? But it wasn't his fault!! (Except for the part where it totally was, but never mind that.]

[He looks after Shun a second; even if it is a Saturday, was his schedule always that critical...? Hmm... Oh, well. He turns back to Johan.]

I wasn't seeking them out or anything. What will you do now— [No, wait. Something else comes first.] What were you doing there?

Inspecting.

[Might as well be honest.

He shrugs, maybe a little guiltily.]

But now that it's calmed down a bit, I think I'll just head back to my temple.

Uh—hold on. Did something happen?

[It finally registered that both of them had mentioned this place like they'd known it was a danger spot.] What were you inspecting?

[Something he should know, or is this about the extent of it? Because he'd rather not run into trouble again today. Ahaha...]

...Also, I'm sorry about my god. [Belated. Thanks for not mentioning the thing and please don't tell him about the thing even if he's being rude. Please.]

red ghost moon

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i apologise in advance for this overdramatic nerd

PERFECT

I love his dramatic entrances

good because he will Never Stop

yes gooooood

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