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Who: Yona and castmates/adjacent CR
When: The days after the Age-Swap Event
Where: Yona's Temple
What: Catch-all to deal with fallout from the new arrivals and things discovered during the age swap event. Also probably a picnic.

[ The day after time is restored to normal, Yona sticks close to her temple, mind still reeling from what she had learned and the hectic events of the past few days. Between the arrival of her two newest shinki and some of the conversations she'd had with companions over the past few days, taking some time to process it seems the wisest of ideas.

But even though she doesn't venture far from her own temple, it doesn't mean she doesn't welcome anyone who stops by for a visit, clearly happy to greet anyone who stops by. Especially if they are people she needed to talk with anyway.

As for those staying in her temple, she does her best to make sure they get settled and comfortable, answering any questions she can to try and make this new arrangement as smooth as possible. And if there's a sudden resurgence of bad dreams in the aftermath of one particular shinki coming back to live in this place with her... well. She does her best to hide the evidence of it. ]

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The problem would be if she saw him going through the air.

[ Because then it's clear that Shizuo did something. Even if Jae-ha had it coming. The main difference between Hak and him was that Shizuo felt guilty for things too easily. ]

Whether he'd get back easily or not wasn't really a concern of mine.

[ Okay, so maybe the guilt complex was selective. ]

People can make bets over how far he'd fly and how long it would take him to get back.

[He pauses, peeking over his shoulder to the crowd in the distance where somewhere, Yona is.]

And how long it'll take Yona to notice.

[Hak puts his bets on pretty quick with that last one.]

We're not opening a betting pool.

[ Shizuo is too good for that. Also, that's a lot of people and numbers to keep track of. Waaaay too much work. Not to mention Yona's reaction if she found out about it.

Which, at that thought, is about when his glance follows Hak's to where, out in the distance, Yona was. Enjoying her picnic with everyone else. She had already given Shizuo a piece of her mind relatively recently. So, he'd rather avoid another encounter like that for a little while. ]

... Well, I should say I'm not gonna be involved with one.

[When Shizuo follows Hak's gaze, he can't help his quiet, amused laughter. He's joking ~~mostly~~, but the way he looks back as well says a lot. He feels the same way, and while he's not afraid to step on her toes a little bit, he cares about her enough to not cross any lines that are very clearly drawn.]

You afraid of what Yona would have to say about it?

[He doesn't know her that well, so he's curious.]

Not afraid, no...

[ It's that he was more concerned for her well-being. If it alarmed her enough to get upset, Shizuo knew that he'd feel bad. Which would cause her to feel that sting again. Something that he's been doing more than anyone should be putting upon their god. ]

I'd probably end up feeling guilty if she was upset about it all.

You care about her a lot, don't you?

[It's posed as a serious question with a serious look to accompany it. The sudden change in his tone and posture are obvious as well. Hak trusts that he does, but trusting his gut and confirming it aloud are two different things. He might also be seeking affirmation for himself because he's grown to care for her more than he expected in such a short time, and it's confusing the hell out of him.

Maybe this is a normal thing for shinki? Only Shizuo would know, and he trusts the man's opinion.]

Of course I do. She can put up with someone like me.

[ While the man was reliable for some of his opinions and gut feelings, Hak should figure out pretty quickly (if he hasn't already,) that any opinions that also involve himself should be taken with a grain of salt. Not because he's an egomaniac, or narcissist, but the exact opposite of that. ]

I made a promise to protect and keep her safe. That wasn't just because I was set to be her shinki.

Good.

[At least if anything were to happen to Hak, there would be someone who could continue to keep her safe.]

So it's not just because you're a shinki then. [He sighs out loud.] What a bother. More answers breed more questions.

[ Excuse you. As far as they both know, he was keeping her safe a good amount of time before Hak was.

As far as they'd know. ]

... What kind of questions have you been having? I wouldn't really care too much, but there are some we're not supposed to be thinking about. Some things you've just gotta accept and move on with.

Mmn? None in particular.

[He's very much an accept and move on kind of guy. If he can't find the answers he's looking for, he's not going to keep digging. Hak remembers that he's got an apple and takes a giant bite out of it, chewing and talking lazily at the same time. Manners, what are they?]

I guess it's just nice knowing what I'm in for, being her shinki and all. And not from her perspective.

[ Talk and chew at the same time all you'd like, as long as you don't spit apple bits at him. It's fine, even if you manage to choke from it. After all, Shizuo is often found smoking when out relaxing like this. He doesn't put it out when talking to people, which some would also consider rude. ]

The only thing you're in for is the stuff that was put into the handouts. Nothing else is really a given or the same for all of us.

[ You know, that handout you crumpled up and didn't read. ]

[Yeah, no. Maybe if it was an interesting read, he might have taken the time to read it but he still has it in the event that he goes to look at it. There's only so much a brochure can tell you. The rest is all based on personal experience.]

I'm not looking for words on a pamphlet that someone wrote who knows how long ago. It's different for everyone – that's why I'm asking you and not reading something some stranger put down.

... All of us worked on that this past week. Including me.

[ How about that twist. Especially when Shizuo's definitely not the type to take part in these kinds of projects. (It's more that he pushed someone else to go forth with it, and made sure certain subjects were in there.) ]

Yona's probably going to want to try taking us out for a prayer that involves ayakashi, now that she's more familiar with what some of us can do. Otherwise you can do what you'd like. I've got a job at a bar that another shinki runs and do some other things, if you need an example.

[ Yes. Surprisingly he does more than bask in the sun and take walks. ]

[.... He's just going to blatantly ignore the first part about the pamphlet. Good job, Shizuo. You are doing god's work, 10/10!]

Prayers, huh? I've heard about those. [He's not completely uninformed... only a little bit.] So what is it you can do? Other than punch people really hard?

[ This is why he's going to want to punch you half the time. Luckily, Shizuo will only want to do such half the time. ]

Normally? I'm pretty useless. As a vessel, I can stop anything from hitting Yona. If anything I can at least keep her safe.

[ Never mind that useless part. Hak will eventually learn that Shizuo isn't the biggest fan of himself. ]

[He'll count his blessings.]

I wouldn't call what you can do useless - that's like saying the skill to wield a weapon is useless. It's just different.

[He sighs because that hit his ego a little harder than he would have liked.]

I don't see them as being at all alike. Skills are learned and trained- They were worked at to get.

[ He clearly has value for skills. It's why he's pleasantly surprised when discovering that he knows how to do various tasks. Like cooking, bartending, construction (to a basic degree,) and other things you had to know instead of just being able to do them. ]

Honestly, what I can do is more problematic than helpful right now. I can't really feel what I'm doing exactly, save for the general awareness, so it's easy to break things.

[ Hak's still pretty new, but at some point it'll be obvious that Shizuo never actually holds or grabs people- Even if Yona took his hand, he would never actually close his. Not when there was the risk of breaking it. ]

Really, it'd be useful if anyone but me had this. Probably.

[Hak shakes his head, taking a moment to glance over Shizuo's hands. Not that there's anything odd about them, but when he'd felt that punch against his own, even Hak could tell that it was pretty inhuman. He's got quite a bit of strength and endurance himself, and even his fist ached for a couple of days after.]

You really think it'd be more useful if someone else had it? Not like it would change anything about what it does. Isn't it better in the hands of someone who thinks the way you do?

How I think only does so much.

[ Despite the self-depreciation, Shizuo says these things as if they were a simply fact or decision and less a thing to really mope about. ]

There'd be people who would have the same concerns with this, but they'd have a chance to control it better. I figured that out the other day when I was a kid and I could feel what I was doing.

[Hak respectfully disagrees and shakes his head to express as much.]

Maybe, but have you been practicing to control it better, then?

Two kinds of training for this in particular, but there hasn't really been much improvement.

[ At least, that's what he thinks. Shizuo is pretty biased towards whether or not he's good at something, because he's too harsh a judge on himself. ]

One's with a monk to understand and try to get finer control. The other is mostly sparring with a couple of people to get better at fighting, but it's not really controlled.

Controlled? What's there to control in a spar? Two people hitting each other, it doesn't get simpler than that.

[He raises an eyebrow at Shizuo.]

Unless you mean you're just throwing punches without really thinking. I feel bad for whoever's on the other side.

... This kind of sparring includes them with fire and energy blasting powers.

[ Look. He has to improvise. ]

I just react how I can.

Mm, alright. Doesn't sound very controlled to me.

[What the heck kind of powers do these people have, other than what they're capable of as gods or shinki!?]

I'd offer to help but I like my face enough to want to avoid getting blasted with fire.

[Look, it's a pretty decent face, alright?]

[ It really is a mixed bag, Hak. Someday you may meet the headless woman, so be prepared. ]

Izumo knows better than to hit people in the face, but it's probably best you don't get involved. I barely keep up with them.

[ In his opinion, that is. Has Hak realized how that tends to lean, though? ]

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