thenearshore | 016 | The Good Old Days

Entry tags:

016 | The Good Old Days

Who: Everyone!
What: Ageswapping
When: July 15-17
Where: Everywhere
Summary: A breach in the space-time continuum is messing things up.

Edit: OVERFLOW is here!

The Far Shore has been dealing with a lot of space-time pulsating through the past week or so and everything is culminating on the night of the 15th, even though the Heavens are preparing for an all-out Obon bash. They had planned to have the celebration on the 15th itself, but Amaterasu asked to postpone a day due to the horrible feeling that is permeating the Far Shore.

And it turns out she was right to postpone everything. In fact, it will have to be postponed another whole month at this rate...

Before

Late in the day on July 15th, the new batch of shinki will arrive to a Far Shore with a thick, tense atmosphere. All night on the 15th it feels like something is about to happen - and it's difficult to tell whether that something will be good or bad. Any attempts to contact the management of the Far Shore have fallen on deaf, slightly harried ears and so everyone is left to their own devices to try and figure out why things are so tense.

July 16

Just after midnight, an explosive shock wave rips through the Far Shore, bringing on the age changes with it. Even the spirits of the Far Shore seem to be affected - for example, the library goblins are either toddling around on wobbly legs or are dragging themselves from place to place and looking decrepit. There are a few gods and shinki that seem to have been exceptions from the change, though it is not clear why.

July 17

Another wave of energy comes in the early morning of the 17th. Fewer people are affected this time and it seems to alter those people's ages a second time. There is no rhyme or reason to who is being affected further. Several of the library goblins have just dropped dead from severe old age. Oops.

Aftermath

Late on the 17th brings about one final burst from the energy that has been plaguing the Far Shore. For a short moment, every new temple glows with a soft light, seeming to beckon to their owners. But the light is gone quickly and everyone will find themselves back to normal with complete memories of everything that happened during their age adventures. The goblins that died, though, are still very dead. Looks like the library will need to get some new help soon.

In Summary:

Meet the newbies
Get aged or de-aged
Deal with other too young/too old people
Try to handle the consequences
Have fun~

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[He was expecting some kind of fuss, but he wasn't expecting things thrown at him.]

What the...

[By the time he moves his hands (and the clothes) away from his face, the girl's already making a break for it. Hijikata nearly goes after her just on instinct, but then he thinks better of it...]

[He looks at the price tags on the clothes. Then he walks back to the stall where the employee is still getting chewed out, fishing his billfold out of his yukata sleeve.]

Excuse me. If you're not too busy, I'd like to make a purchase...

[The stall owner blinks in recognition at the no longer missing goods, the anger evaporating in an instant. The customer must have just been browsing and picked them up...]

[Not more than a couple of minutes later, he takes to the street again -- looking for similar clothing shops, and this time, actively keeping an eye out for the girl.]

[Ayumu hasn't gone terribly far, just a few stalls down. The pavement's really hurting her feet now; she hadn't planned to do any running but she'd panicked. She's presently eyeing another pair of sandals that look like they might fit her. It's unfortunate that they're currently being held by the merchant but if she can just get some footwear, she can try for another yukata somewhere else. Trying for both at once had been a mistake.

No one at the stall has noticed her and she just has to wait for the right moment to snatch it. And there! He's putting them down now!

Without fully taking stock of her surroundings first, Ayumu makes a swift lunge for them. Her feet hurt.]

[Ah. There she is.]

[Just as he'd suspected, she's trying the same trick again. She's quick, and her timing's not bad, but... well, it's just her bad luck that he was already looking out for her.]

[He's probably going to give her a little heart attack. Oh, well, she's young.]

Hey.

[Ayumu's fingers have just closed around her prize when the voice stuns her out of her concentration. With a startled, dismayed cry, they slip out of her grasp and fall off the sales' table. But even at this age, she's prideful and stubborn and unwilling to give up without a fight. She's not walking away from this stall barefoot again no matter what kind of tone he takes with her and that's just that.]

Go away. I'm busy.

[Even with him standing there, Ayumu still reaches out to pick up the sandals.]

[Hijikata reaches out, too, lifting them up above his head.]

Stubborn little shit...

[He tosses the bag in his other hand at her -- rather more lightly than she did at him a few minutes ago.]

You don't have to. Take those.

[Her reflexes and coordination are above average for a child her age but the light toss makes it easier to catch. For a second, she has the odd sensation that she's used to much harder throws but quickly suppresses it. She still eyes the boy with mistrust but glances in the bag, starting in surprise to see not only the yukata she'd stolen from the other stall but the sandals, too. In spite of herself, a look of surprised delight blooming on her face in place of that sullen scowl.

After a moment, her expression clouds over in confusion before she simply asks:]

Why?

You need them.

[And she'll clearly do what she has to to get them, anyway.]

And that shopkeeper needs to pay their rent or feed their kids or something, and their assistant probably didn't need to get in trouble for no good reason.

It just works out better this way, that's all.

[Not like he's being nice or anything. Not like he cares.]

[Ayumu's still not quite sure what to make of this. One might think no one had ever bought her a gift before. Maybe no one has. It's not like the girl herself can verify it. When he goes on to talk about the shopkeeper, she quickly shakes her head, long hair flying.]

Nuh uh. Not supposed to do that. Just makes it harder to survive.

[Like usual, Ayumu doesn't know where the knowledge comes from. Somewhere deep inside her, a place beyond her reach maybe? It's not a matter she should think about so she doesn't. Ayumu's good at doing what she's told but the knowledge of who told her these things is lost. Or who she's supposed to obey. Just that she's supposed to obey and this person isn't them.]

But thanks.

[It's a little grudging but genuine gratitude. She doesn't like accepting help but she's a smart kid, too smart to turn down something she needs out of pride. Even if it's really, really hard to do it.

Ayumu takes the sandals out the bag and slips them on her feet quickly. But if Hijikata's sharp enough, he might notice they're blistered, dirty, and one of them has a nasty looking scrape on the heel.]

Edited 2017-05-19 04:09 (UTC)

Harder... maybe. Easier isn't always better, though, when you can afford to do things the hard way. I can right now, and that's my choice.

[Damn, that's harsh. She must have come from some really rough circumstances, if just thinking about how the person you're taking something from feels like such a threat...]

[The glimpse he catches of her feet as she lifts them up to slip into the sandals strengthens that suspicion, and Hijikata feels a pang of sympathy -- an urge to protect her, even if just a little, from an uncaring world that seems like it's already taught her to take what she can and not think too hard about it.]

...You're going to want to take care of that. Do you have clean bandages, or anything to clean it with?

...No. I was gonna look for those next.

[Not that she knows what she's looking for exactly yet. Her father hadn't started that part of her training yet; that came after Susumu was born. And in her current state of amnesia with how weird everything looks to her, Ayumu's even more clueless. That she even managed to get this far away from the temple, figure out how the shrines work to even get to the Near Shore on her own is either a miracle or the mark of a brilliant mind.]

I'm not sure what to put on it. Everything looks strange to me and I'm not sure where I am.

[Her voice grows soft, small, and a little scared as she says that, lips trembling a moment before lifts her chin, that stubborn pride flaring up again. Never show weakness and never cry! That's what Ayumu's supposed to do when she's frightened. Someone... had told her so. And she does what she's told. That's what good girls do.]

But I'll figure it out! I always do!

You're lost?

[Actually... How is she even able to pay attention to him? Mortals aren't supposed to be able to, right?]

[Great observation skills there, genius. Ayumu figured that out as soon she realized he could see her. Boys.]

Yes... N-No. Definitely not! I just don't know where this is. But I know where I came from! I just have to find my way back there!

[So there! She's not lost. (She's lost.)]

[...Right. So, really damn lost.]

Right. Fine. Then where are you trying to get back to?

A shrine. There's one back there.

[Somewhere. Maybe. Ayumu points past the first stall he'd found her at to an intersection beyond. She'd been so relieved to hear the hustle and bustle of the marketplace that she's not exactly sure which one she came from, her hurry to find some proper clothing her size had been so great.]

It's the only place that didn't look weird so I remember it.

[And she has a very good memory, she's discovering. (Kind of bizarre when her memory starts at midnight and everything is a huge blank before it.) Though sometimes Ayumu needs to stop and think about things and make sure she has the right landmarks in mind. She was too focused on her mission to pay all that much attention though...]

Edited 2017-05-19 06:12 (UTC)

[It clicks, after a moment. Hijikata frowns, running a hand through his hair, and lowers his voice even though there's just about no chance of anyone listening in on them.]

...Did you come here through it?

Uh huh!

[Ayumu beams suddenly, puffing out her chest just a little with pride. She has absolutely no idea how it works but she figured out how to use it just by watching someone do it first all by herself. That's what good girls do!]

That's why I don't know where I am. Is this the same place or somewhere else...?

[She has a feeling she's talking too much and asking too many questions. People notice and remember those kinds of things, don't they...]

It doesn't look like the same place. The buildings were different there.

[And of course, she assumes he knows exactly the place she's talking about. If he knows people can go through the shrines then he must be from the other side, too.]

They call the place we came from "the Far Shore."

[Hijikata might not know much yet, but what he does know, he'll unabashedly talk about with authority.]

And this is the "Near Shore" -- where living mortals live.

Oh.

[Ayumu nods, her face alight with dawning understanding.]

So that's why no one sees us. They're alive and we're not.

[Her tone's matter of fact and completely unperterbed. Apparently, the idea that she's dead doesn't bother her at all. She's even smiling a little which may be a little disturbing in and of itself.]

[That calmness is definitely a little unnerving, actually, but whatever. Hijikata shrugs a little bit, looking around at the crowds of shoppers.]

I don't know if I'm dead, technically, but if you don't remember much else, I think you probably are.

[...Which is pretty sad. Hell, she's so young.]

[Sad but not particularly unusual for their time considering how much harder it was for babies to survive to adulthood back then.]

I don't. I woke up someplace else but there weren't any clothes that fit me.

[Hence her theft of a shirt big enough to cover her and her mission to find some clothes. Speaking of which...]

Excuse me but can I get dressed now?

[Ayumu's a little excited to wear the yukata. Real clothes and it'd looked so pretty in the stall and like it'd fit her and everything.]

Do what you like, I'm not going to stop you.

[She's not his problem, after all.]

[...Never mind that he's going out of his way to look after her, it's not like he cares or anything.]

'Kay. I'll do that.

[Maybe she'd misjudged him and he isn't gonna flip out if she changes right here? With a small shrug, Ayumu goes about changing into the yukata. It's not like anyone can see her but she's still quick about it. After she's done, she puts the shirt she'd been wearing into the bag.

She'd been right! It is just her size. Ayumu does a little twirl in place, admiring the flower designs. Then she remembers he's still standing there.]

Who are you, anyway?

[Continued here!]

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016 | The Good Old Days

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