Look around, look around

[toremainbehind]

Who: Izumo and Open
When: Early August
Where: Far Shore, possibly Near Shore.
What: Post-Ablution stuff. Coping with missing friends and returned memories. Izumo doesn't appreciate haunting season.
Warning: N/A


A. Cnoc Áine - After Shizuo’s Ablution

[After performing the ablution on Shizuo with Chikusa and Goten, Izumo has decided to stick around Yona’s temple to keep an eye on the two. Normally he wouldn’t be around the temple so much, only ever coming and go briefly to visit Shizuo or Yona. He usually sticks to the room that ended up being his, but he’s actually out and about in the temple now.

If he looks a little tired, just pretend that he isn’t instead.

However, anyone around the temple might spot him in the halls or somewhere outside. Come and talk to him? Drink with him?]

B. Double Cross Bar - Memories On A Wall

[The moment he’s learned that Sora and Roxas are gone, Izumo felt a bit—not sad, per se, but something close to it. While he wouldn’t exactly call himself sentimental, he’s decided that putting up a photo wall can be at least one way of keeping memories alive.

So, after a day or two, he puts up a post on the BBS:]

If anyone has any photos of Sora and Roxas, mind if I have a copy? I’m working on a project right now, so I thought it’d be good to start with those two first.

[Anyone who does come to the bar will find Izumo leaning against the counter, focused on a blank wall to the side. He seems thoughtful, though he does glance over at anyone who comes in.]

C. When Will Dreams End? [Closed to Totsuka]

[He sent a text to Totsuka earlier that morning upon awakening. It’s not like how he reacted when he first remembered Anna, but now some things the man has said the few times they’ve met makes sense.

Choosing his bar instead of Mikoto’s temple or Totsuka’s temple was a good place to talk. With it still closed, it gives them the proper privacy they need.

Really, Izumo didn’t enjoy waking up suddenly remembering people from his past life, but it’s even worse now because this time, he’s aware of one fact about the god: he’s dead.

By the time Totsuka comes to the bar, Izumo already has a drink in front of him.]

D. Fade to Black

[It’s August.

It’s summer and it’s haunting season.

So, it’s not surprising that Izumo is being haunted by some ghosts that decides to play with him. Which is why he’s looking fairly unimpressed at a floating lighter, the sounds of childish giggles heard around him.]

E. WildCard

[Feel free to make up your own prompt if nothing here interests you!]

Comments

[toremainbehind]

[Regaining his memories through dreams make it all that easier to believe that it couldn't be memories at all, but at the same time, they're too vivid. They're too realistic for him to ignore because it feels as if one of those missing puzzle pieces just came back to him and it fit.

He's remembered two important people to him now, but there were more, aren't there?

More people who were important to him, but he just can't remember.

Izumo gives a shrug.]

If they're here as shinki, then it might take some time before they really do remember you. What will you do then?

[Since, in the past, Totsuka has already slipped a few times around Izumo that he's not sure if he potentially slipped around others, too. Then again, it made sense now that Izumo properly thought about it, especially with how bright Totsuka seemed to have gotten the first time he mentioned Anna.

But, this time, a chuckle escapes from him.]

You are. [Because how else can they go about this?] Don't tell Mikoto about this yet, though.

[heartshutter]

[ There are more, yes. Many, many more. And most of them are here, somehow, which tells of a gruesome end to Shizume City’s most loyal, and most brutal clan. Meanwhile, Scepter-4 seems to have fared much better, somehow, with vastly fewer numbers...

But rather than taking that as a defeat, Tatara will find that silver lining instead: They’re here, together again, a family eternal. Even if they don’t remember each other yet, they will eventually.

...For better or worse.

With a bittersweet smile, then, on that note-- ] I can’t say.

[ But he drums briefly, lightly on the bar as he lifts his head back up. ] But I’m not going to sweat it. It’s fine; everything will work out somehow!

[ Who knows, maybe Yata will be less angry, and more relieved when his time comes? If it does. But even then, that’s only one of many people accounted for. So, odds are, Tatara’s still up the metaphorical shit creek, owed many more head-punches than hugs. (Thanks for reaffirming that, Izumo. Deeply appreciated.) ]

That’s probably for the best. [ Awkward, nervous laughter here. ] I can’t imagine King will take it well...

[ He pushes himself back upright on his barstool. ]

Ah, I do need to see him soon though, about Johan.

[ Still lugging around that heavy burden? You bet. And while he loves and respects Mikoto more -- if that’s possible -- for helping him bury that heartache properly and bring his clansman closure, he worries.

...Not for Mikoto, no. Hell no. More for everyone who stands in his way. But first, this: A hand on his elder’s shoulder, and a sincerely concerned look from Tatara, for once, with brows upturned and knitted beneath ash blond fringe. ]

...Will you be okay, Kusanagi-san?

[toremainbehind]

You always say that, too.

[A huff but there's no bite to it.

Izumo's expression shifts a bit. While he might not know what kind of relationship Totsuka and Mikoto shared exactly, all he knows is that he doesn't want his god to know about him remembering Totsuka yet. He will find out eventually, but now wasn't the time for him to.

After all, he's perfectly aware of what Mikoto and Totsuka has been up to, with the manhunt for Johan's killer.

It's why he hasn't exactly chosen to partake in that hunt yet, and he knows there are plenty of people here who could give Totsuka more information than he could right now.

Best not to interrupt it.]

Haven't found a lead yet?

[It's never easy to lose a love, especially for someone like Totsuka who never seemed to really attach himself to anyone or anything.

He lifts his head when he feels that hand on his shoulder, looking at the younger man. For a moment, he doesn't say anything, wondering if he should smile and wave it off or actually be honest for once.]

I will be.

[heartshutter]

[ To that comment about him always using that statement of blind optimism, Tatara laughs and shrugs sheepishly. ]

Sorry!

[ He’s not. He will, however, pull his hand from Izumo’s shoulder before it lingers too long, and is more forcibly removed. ]

Aah, we’ve barely just begun...! But King said he has news for me.

[ He didn’t expect Mikoto to take this task so personally or handle it so quickly; but, here they are. Then again, perhaps Tatara never should have doubted -- after all, the Red King takes care of his own... even if, in this instance, “his own” feels rather pitiful for being found out in the first place. But Mikoto had known something was wrong right from the start, pressing on and on about Tatara seeming sad until he finally confessed.

Although, even now, he doesn’t know the details. He gave a name, said Johan was ‘a dear friend’, and that was enough.

It’s not a lie. Not technically. At the time, perhaps, he’d indulged himself in some foolish, self-serving denial, saying that Johan was just a friend; that those flutters and sparks and butterflies were all made up things. But in the wake of losing that, he knows without a doubt they were real. He’d gotten attached for maybe the first time in his life, and so naturally this loss doesn't pull away cleanly, but takes pieces of Tatara with it, reshaping him indelibly.

He's forever changed, as a result. No one ever forgets their first love, after all. And, like they always say, hindsight is indeed 20/20. Maybe if he’d invited Johan to stay with him that night -- however forward that might have been -- he’d still be alive today, and they’d be a happy couple. Who can say? It’s all conjecture anymore. That, and survivor’s guilt. ]

That makes two of us. [ Hey, honesty deserves honesty in return. ]

If there’s anything I can do, Kusanagi-san, you know I will -- even if it means picking up extra hours so you can relax.

[ He can’t promise he’ll be on-time, but he’ll show up. ]

[toremainbehind]

Hopefully it's good news.

[Because who knows what kind of news that Mikoto could have found honestly.

And knowing his god, there are chances that he might have jumped the gun a bit and immediately just started doing what felt right or what needed to be done. Izumo could relate, remembering Totsuka now does make him feel like he wants to pitch in with the manhunt.

He gives Totsuka a look, though, to see if there's anything that needed to be said or done. There are memories of him crying not too long ago when the death of Johan reached them. It was the first time he's ever seen Totsuka cry, and he knows why now.

A love gained and lost in the blink of an eye.

He gives a nod.]

Just don't get yourself killed, Totsuka. [Not with the murderer still on the loose.]

But I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

[heartshutter]

[ There’s a series of small nods. Tatara being Tatara, he’s betting it’s good news.

...Either that, or Mikoto’s caught the killer already and is holding them hostage to let his clansman have his revenge first before burning them alive.

But revenge, vengeance... that’s not Tatara’s aim. No havoc either of them could wreak would bring back what’s been lost, anyway. He will, by all logic, likely never see Johan again. Not once, in all their possible lifetimes. It’s sheer optimism that drives him to smile in the face of that; to keep hope for the implausible alive. In the meantime, it’s enough that his killer stops killing, so that no one else will have to face a similar loss.

Tatara knows he most certainly wouldn’t wish such grief on any person he’s met here yet, that’s for sure.

Of course, on the bright side, he’s learned a lot from the tears. This is the same man who didn’t seem upset about his own death, after all, if Izumo recalls. The one who has spent the greater portion of his life’s most grave traumas smiling and waving off everything that might have been devastating to most anyone else.

But when someone reaches his heart, well... now he knows it’s not so cold to the touch, after all.

Tatara’s on his feet then, dusting himself off habitually. ]

Kusanagi-san worries too much about me! [ Said with another dismissive wave. But he can’t pull the wool so far over Izumo’s eyes now, can he? Not now that he knows what he does...

A long breath out. ]

Aah, I’ll be careful. I promise. [ His head leans over, a sheepish expression twisting his lips. ]

We don’t need a repeat of history, after all.

[ He won't leave time for commentary to that before heading for the door. ]

See ya, Kusanagi-san!

[toremainbehind]

You've never given me reason to worry about you any less.

[Because Totsuka is still Totsuka and Izumo knows better than to do anything to actually stop him.

He's always worried about him in some way, recalling the feeling of trepidation that always came near whenever the younger man always went out on his own. But at the same time, he's never been truly concerned about him either.

Totsuka is Totsuka because he is the only one who knows how far he can go; how far he is able to tackle anything that comes his way. It's why Izumo hasn't hovered around him, even when the trepidation grew stronger until it was finally proven true with the way that Totsuka was taken from them.

"Everything will be okay!"

Izumo huffs a bit, looking over at Totsuka.]

You'll get hit again if we do.

[But he gives a light wave.]

See you around, Totsuka.