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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16th, wandering about the Far Shore
baby ballerina's
hiding somewhere in the corner

[Soujirou is feeling the lack of familiarity acutely despite being a shinki, and therefore not having much to compare it to. Possibly the feeling of being adrift and superfluous just comes naturally to him, an integral part of the person he used to be at age nine.

So he walks hesitantly, eyes darting around even though his face stays mostly expressionless, shoulders slightly hunched as if he's expecting a scolding. He's picked up a broom somewhere, he doesn't know why, but he's clutching it in his arms in a defensive gesture. If anyone looks at him for too long, he starts to sweep the ground where he stands, staring back intently.]

16th, at Hachiman's temple
where the shadow wraps around her
and our torches cannot find her

[He's found his way back to where he woke up, and is currently out in the garden, watching the multicolored ducks frolicking about the place with plain confusion. Everything looks so... so traditional and serene and imposing. The ducks clearly don't belong here.

He squats down, trying to outstare one of them as it waddles closer. Clearly this kid has never learned what hellbeasts ducks can be.]

This is supposed to be the home of a God? [He glances down at his broom on the ground, as if contemplating poking the duck with it.] Must be a pretty dumb God.

17th, about the Near Shore
so grow tall sugarcane
eat that soil, drink the rain

[No longer an unsmiling child of nine, there is definitely some of the awkward gangliness of teenage boys about Souji, though it's somewhat hidden by his loose clothes and the graceful way he moves. Apparently he hasn't grown out of that girly face or those big eyes in what appears to be four or five years passing overnight - although he has grown into confidence and good cheer.

He can be found all over, with some money he has somehow procured and an apparent determination to spend it. He most likely is continuously stuffing his face with candy at all times, even as he plays with toys and excitedly tries out clothes in the middle of stores like a complete disaster. Someone contain this. Or join him? You might not even have a choice as he'll occasionally turn to passing strangers and fling one of these at their face, or ask their opinion about clothes, or offer them some candy.

(How come he acts like a bigger kid now than before?)]

Edited 2017-05-17 01:28 (UTC)

[Gonou pauses on the front steps of the school as he spots the small child with a broom by the gate.

Is that his broom? As if the delinquents upstairs weren't bad enough, now he has grade-schoolers making off with the gardening equipment! He jogs towards the gate, but it doesn't take long to realize that the broom the boy is holding (and now, as Gonou approaches, sweeping industriously with as though he's afraid he'll be in trouble) isn't his.

He slows to a stop several paces away, looking down at the child in confusion.

It's been a very strange day.]

It's all right. I swept the courtyard this morning.

[Wow, rude, assuming that he is a broom thief! Well... it isn't actually his broom, so maybe he kind of nicked it, but he didn't nick it from anyone as such. It was just lying around.

He clutches the broom a bit closer as he's addressed, almost defensively, cheeks colouring. It's true that most of the yard looks tidy enough, and he can't exactly explain why he feels the need to be seen cleaning it. It's just this nagging little voice that says if he's not doing something useful, people will... what?

Be angry? Rebuke him? Or maybe they'll just... not want him around?]

I- I want to help. [It comes out too bluntly, impulsively, and he flinches a bit at the sound of his own words.] I mean... is there anything I can help out with? Please?

Ah...

[Gonou exhales.]

... Well, I have laundry to do. You could help me with that if you'd like.

[There are plenty of sheets to do, and he'll have to air the futons -- those are too heavy for a child as small as this one, but hanging up sheets over the clotheslines isn't out of his capacity.]

And meanwhile, why don't you tell me what brought you all the way out here?

[Soujirou relaxes imperceptibly. There's something for him to do here; he's not being a bother and he's not in trouble. At least at the moment. He nods promptly, tucking the broom under his arm and stepping a bit closer.

The question causes him to shyly drop his gaze, shrugging carefully so as not to drop the broom.]

I didn't really know what I was supposed to do, so I thought I'd look around. I think maybe I'm looking for my god? But I guess my god will find me when I'm needed.

Yes, he probably will.

[Unless he's too young himself, and doesn't remember. Whatever has caused this, Gonou thinks, it is obnoxiously inconvenient.

In the meantime, he can at least make sure that a nervously helpful little boy doesn't end up lost or wandering into the courtyard of an unfriendly god's temple, he thinks, and starts back around the temple. There's a faucet at the back that's convenient for laundry, and he can drain the water right off into the weeds.]

In the meantime, my laundry tub is back this way. I'm Cho Gonou, by the way. I teach here. What's your name?

[Soujirou obediently follows, the broom dragging a trail in the dirt since he's a tiny thing and has scrawny little arms. Most nine-year-olds wouldn't exactly be psyched about doing laundry, and it's not exactly as if Soujirou is excited about the task in itself. But it really does feel good to have something to do, something he can accomplish for someone else with clear directions.]

He glances up at the introduction, carefully putting the name to memory. It's probably important if he's a teacher, right? He stops, dropping into a bow and subsequently smacking himself on the chin with the broom handle.]

Oww. I'm Okita Soujirou. It's nice to meet you, Cho-sensei. [An awkward pause, then:] Are you a god?

Ah, be careful --

[Too late. Gonou winces in sympathy as the broom smacks Soujirou's chin.]

Yes, I'm a god. I'm, ah... [He clears his throat.]

I've forgotten a few things about this place, so I don't know what I'm supposed to be the god of.

[He rubs his chin a bit absently, but for all that he's a sensitive child, that's not the sort of thing that would make him cry. Things like Letting People Down and Not Being Wanted are way more scary than scrapes and bruises. Mind, he's still going to carefully lean the broom against the wall to have his hands free.]

You don't know what you're god of? [He frowns slightly.] If you don't know how to god, how can you be a god, then?

[He could've probably constructed a better sentence there, but look, he's nine.]

Well, they haven't fired me yet...

[Despite the fact that he doesn't have any idea how to god.

The laundry basket is waiting by the school's back door, and Gonou heaves it up, balancing it with care as he heads for the faucet -- an old-style pump, really -- and the washtub.]

I'll have to ask the Heavens' shinki to help when things are a little less busy. I wouldn't like to disturb them.

[Same old Souji, huh?]

[From a nearby veranda where he's taken to reading and trying to stay out of the heat, Hijikata perks up slightly at the sound of that familiar voice. He scoffs once, quietly, sliding his book away from himself slightly.]

Probably not all that smart to go around saying that kind of thing about a god in his own home, either.

[He starts a bit, looking up at the stranger. Not a proper adult, he thinks, not really, but still a Big Kid. Maybe he ought to tread with more care, but he hadn't said anything that was wrong, had he? So Big Kid or not, he's got no call to say he's stupid!]

So I guess you're the dumb god of this temple, huh? Must be pretty weak too, if you've got nothing better to do than bully younger kids. [He says this despite knowing this temple was where he'd first started out, so chances are that this is his god. He just has too much sass, this child.]

Edited 2017-05-19 02:50 (UTC)

[Hijikata's heart drops down to his stomach.]

[That attitude is familiar. He's seen it before. It's like...]

[It's like Souji was when they first met.]

[Like he doesn't remember him at all.]

[He opens his mouth to say something about it, but finds himself silenced by a heavy sense of dread. It takes him a second to recover and find some other way forward.]

If I were trying to bully you, you'd know it, brat. I'm not the one talking bad about people, either.

Edited 2017-05-19 02:54 (UTC)

Maybe. But I'm not the god of ducks.

[It's a childish retort, because look, he's still nine years old. But he's on edge and defensive and also, simultaneously, genuinely scared that if this is his god, maybe he won't want him anymore. It's not like he would've said anything about him being a dumb god if he'd known he was there. He just doesn't know how he's supposed to make it better, and settles for snapping back as a default response.

How to be even slightly conciliatory? Maybe...]

I guess they're not too bad, though. [Meaning the ducks, naturally. He eyes them, hunching his shoulders a bit, and adds:] And since I'm going to live here, I guess I can make friends with them.

[Going to live here.]

[A shinki. He's only had the morning to get himself filled in on the details, but Hijikata knows enough to know what that means.]

[He doesn't remember. He can't remember.]

[(How did he get here? What happened to him? Hijikata fights down a wave of something like guilt -- they were supposed to look after him, he promised...)]

I don't think I'm the god of ducks. Never heard about it before, anyway. I think they just like the garden or something, and they're not really making any trouble here, so...

[He clears his throat, getting up to walk over to the child. A new chance at a first impression can only be good, at least.]

...I'm Hachiman. You could call me Hijikata instead, if you want.

["Toshizou" is what people who don't really know him call him, and "Toshi" is too personal, too vulnerable, but it seems odd to just abandon his own name altogether, even if he is a god.]

[He considers arguing, however childishly, about why anyone would have so many ducks in their temple if they weren't significant somehow. But he doesn't want to, not really. His feet are tired from walking around and he doesn't want this to stop being his home. He needs somewhere to be, somewhere to go.

The god walks closer, and the introduction seems like it might be an attempt at an olive branch, however abruptly it is delivered. Soujirou fidgets a bit, but then instinct wins out and he responds with a somewhat mechanical-looking bow, as if he can't get the tension out of himself to do it properly.]

I'm Okita Soujirou. [He holds up his hand, showing the red strokes of the kanji branded onto his left hand, like a physical echo of a hand clutching his in a dark forest which he cannot be allowed to remember.] But I think this is my real name here.

[Hijikata looks down at that red mark marring the child's hand, and somehow... somehow, it isn't as surprising as he thinks it perhaps ought to be.]

"Ume", huh?

[It's a girly name. Delicate, which might suit Souji. But if it's got to do with him, with what he'd call him...]

That's a good name. The flower that blooms to spite the cold... You must be tougher than you look.

[Soujirou stares up at him, suspicious at first, as if trying to figure out if this god is somehow making fun of him. But after a moment or two, it dawns on him that no, he'd said a nice thing. The god of the temple he's probably meant to live at - his god? - said a nice thing about him.

Suddenly his lower lip shakes dangerously, although for some reason it's not followed by tears. Somehow, he feels he really shouldn't. He's meant to be tough, right?]

I- I'm supposed to be a weapon. The weapon of a god. [It comes out more like a question than anything else, as if seeking assurance that this really is his intended purpose.]

[It seems a little cruel, doesn't it?]

[The words he said in desperation, wanting to give Souji something to hold on to, are truer now than either of them ever intended. But he isn't about to break his promise now...]

Then you'll have to work hard, won't you?

[He can't quite look Souji in the eye, but his voice is surprisingly gentle for a moment. There's a reverence in it, of all things.]

You'll have to be brave, so you can stand at my side. Will you do that for me?

[Soujirou nods, trying to put on his very bravest face, because somehow this feels really, really, really important. This is proof, if nothing else, that this really is his home and will keep being his home for as long as he does what he's supposed to. This is his place too, and he can actually do something to deserve it. He's not going to be a burden on anyone, not hurt anyone else by existing.

That's a good thing, right?

Without knowing why, he reaches out his branded hand imploringly to his god, as if it's part of some kind of ceremony.]

I will. And that means I can stay with you, right?

[He can almost see the shadows of the forest, the blood and tears on Souji's face, the sickly-pale moonlight...]

Do that, and you'll always have a place with me.

[If he can't remember the promise, he'll just have to make it again. Carefully, he holds out his hand, cradling Souji's smaller one in his palm.]

[He won't abandon him. They've been through too much together, even if Souji doesn't know about it.]

[The hand around his is steady, big, and seems more grown up than Hijikata had first seemed to him. Not distant, though. It's really warm and feels... safe.

He nods solemnly, determinately swallowing back any threatening tears.]

That's alright, then. [He hesitates, and then adds a bit shyly.] I'm still learning how to be a shinki, though.

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ambitioninwait - 2017-05-19 05:37 (UTC) - Expand

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spes_phthisica - 2017-05-19 05:45 (UTC) - Expand

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ambitioninwait - 2017-05-19 17:27 (UTC) - Expand

( Urashima is doing two things right now. First, he's trying to find Oona (where did she go?!) and second,
he's checking on his friends as his quests take him from one place to the next. He wasn't planning on staying here fore very long because everything looked fine at first but Urashima doesn't remember Hijikata having any kids around the temple? )

That isn't very nice.

[Souji glances up, looking a little defensive. Next to him, the duck does the same, managing to mimic his expression with a bit more menace.

This kid is older than him, though. Caught between apprehension and unwillingness to back down, what he manages to blurt out is:]

Can't I say that my own God is dumb?

[Well. It's PROBABLY his God since he woke up at this temple, right?]

Edited 2017-06-06 21:26 (UTC)

( Here! )

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016 | The Good Old Days

Okita Souji(rou) | OTA

16th, Far Shore

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Hachiman's Temple

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16th, Hachiman's temple

embarrassingly late orz

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