Rat Free-Time

[slylittlefoxrat]

Who: Nezumi and OPEN
Where: All around (check each prompt for location)
When: July 31st - afternoon and on
What: Nezumi has a mouse! Now he has the time to actually do some of the things he's been wanting to since arriving here.



Prologue


1 - Closed to the possibility of Shion, Ryuji, and Ann (don't have to reply if they don't see Nezumi)

[Nezumi first showed Cravat where Shion was staying, telling the mouse that it would likely spend most of its nights there, then he searched for Shion or his 'god' and the other shinki. Fortunately, they were all together. He stayed a fair distance from them, hiding on the roof of a building.]

The other guy is his assigned 'god'. [Nezumi spoke quietly to the mouse.] The girl is pretty much the same as him. You'll see them a lot.

[An equally quiet 'cheep' from the brown mouse at his shoulder replied to him.]

I'm counting on you.

['Cheep cheep!' the mouse had replied before it lept off of Nezumi's shoulder to run down the building to the ground.]


2 - Open - Electronic parts store

[The first place Nezumi went to after dropping Cravat off was some parts store. He wanted to make some more robot mice for this place; they could still go places no one else would think to look, and he needed to know as much about this place as possible.

Nezumi browsed a few things within the store, keeping in mind the prices. It hadn't looked like anything was overpriced. In fact, it was actually kind of cheaper than he was used to since things like this wasn't readily available where he was from. He looked at wires, miniature cameras and video recorders, microphones, and other similar parts. He would have to find a different store for the outside visual aspects of the robot.]


3 - Open - Training with his soulless shinki

[When Nezumi finally practices with his shinki, he does it rather close to his shrine, and it's late in the evening so that everyone should mostly be back to their own shrines.

He starts by grasping the material wrapped around his neck and pulling on it. The ends unravel from around his neck and the material falls to reveal that it is a cloak of some sort. He then grabs one end and wraps it around his forearm a bit.

He leaps into the air then, heading strait towards some make-shift dummy hanging from a tree. He twists his body just before the collision, moving to the side of the dummy instead. The other end of the material was released, actually thrown so that Nezumi could catch it in his free hand again once he was behind the dummy.

The material seemed longer then, and not as wide, because for a moment it looked as if the dummy only had a sash wrapped around it. He used the material to pull himself closer to the dummy, and then kicked off from the dummy's body to be taken to the air again, from a different angle. Using those methods, he moved around the dummy, wrapping it even more with the material that was definitely longer and more narrow.

Eventually, the material seemed to have a limit to its length. All that remained was the end he held in his hand and the end wrapped around his arm. He moved away from the dummy then, twirling and spinning in air, unraveling the material from his arm.

He landed on the ground and looked up at the wrapped dummy. A smirk is plastered on his face, but his grey eyes shine with curiosity. If he really wanted to, he could hide that as well, but no one was watching him anyway...

Would it actually work if he were to say it? As it was 'supposed' to be used against the ayakashi, using it on a training dummy may not be the best indicator, but...]

Rend.

((OOC: I don't know if it will actually work or not, so feel free to include the results in your reply ^_^;; ))


4 - Open - Wildcard?

[Nezumi may not have his robot mice yet, but now that he was free from keeping an eye on Shion, he was able to explore the area much more easily.]

Comments

3!

[thevanguard]

[ Yata had been skating past the temple on his skateboard when he hears the command come from within. Considering that's usually only used on ayakashi, he goes to investigate, just in case. It's not like he ever hesitates when there's a possible fight to be had and his curiosity tends to get him into everything else.

So he pokes his head around the corner of the shrine, looking to see what's happening, just in time to duck the flying bits of an imploded training dummy. ]

Whoa!

[slylittlefoxrat]

[A flash of surprise took Nezumi's expression when the dummy actually imploded before he ducked to avoid most of the debris. He called his shinki's vessel name and the now falling material reformed back into its cape shape and flew back towards Nezumi, wrapping lightly around his neck.

As the bits of dummy still fell around him, that was when he heard the noise. He turned to look and... oh, it was that guy. But Nezumi was in a better mood than he had been when they'd first talked. Maybe the guy would be surprised to see a smirk on Nezumi's expression now?]

Enjoy the show?

[thevanguard]

[ Maybe not surprised, but it was an easier attitude to roll with than what he'd been greeted with the first time they'd met.

At the question, he steps out from behind the building and saunters closer, hands tucked deep in his pockets. ]

Heh. Yeah, that was pretty cool. What'd you do?

[slylittlefoxrat]

I 'trained'.

[He leaves only a short answer even though the tone of his voice remained light. His attitude might be better, but that didn't mean he was any easier to deal with.]

[thevanguard]

[ Yata just snorts, looking amused at the sarcasm. ]

Ahh, so you're not allergic to that after all. Good to know.

3

[lostinshadows]

[Lavi doesn't make it a habit to wander around the Far Shore, especially around other temples, but the word manages to catch his attention all the same.

Curious, he wanders closer and blinks when he sees Nezumi and a training dummy still intact.]

[slylittlefoxrat]

Tch.

[Figures.

He called his shinki's vessel name. The material unwrapped itself from around the dummy, forming back into its cape form before flying back to Nezumi's neck, wrapping comfortably around it.]

Let's try again. You could be a little quicker with your shape change~

[Whatever he shinki said in return, Nezumi didn't answer. He felt a prickling at the back of his neck and instantly turned around to see if anyone else had shown up.]

[lostinshadows]

[Oops, he got caught.

When Nezumi turns to see who it is, Lavi lifts a hand that's half a defensive gesture and a wave. If that mix makes any sense.]

Don't mind me. Just passing through. Couldn't help myself when I heard you say 'Rend'.

[slylittlefoxrat]

Expecting an ayakashi fight?

[He smiles, but it looks more like a smirk.]

Sorry, but you would have been too late if you waited until you heard that word to come running.

1

[asterflower]

[As usual Shion hadn't slept well at all so he'd been up pretty much with the sun. The other two are not so much morning people so he spent the morning heading out to pick up some freshly baked strawberry cake. For breakfast, of course.

He doesn't notice the little mouse watching him as he heads back inside.]

Ann-san? Are you awake? I have a treat for breakfast.

[Ryuji probably isn't up yet but maybe the smell of fresh cake will get him out of bed.]

[cakebuffet]

[Ann is surprised to hear the door open so early, not quite used to her housemates' sleeping habits just yet, but she raises a curious eyebrow as she appears, leaning through the door from the kitchen.]

Oh, hey!

[She rubs at one eye, chasing the sleep from it before stifling a yawn.]

You went out and got breakfast? That was nice.

[asterflower]

Good morning.

[He smiles and heads to the table to place the package down.]

I figured we could all share something. Like celebrating being a new team together. Do you like cake?

[Because he does.]

[forreal]

S'mone say cake?

[And in comes Ryuji, groaning and yawning like a bear as he drags his feet into the kitchen to join Ann and Shion, looking like he's only just rolled out of bed. Because he has. Out of the three of them, he's always the last one up and this morning is no different.

Rubbing his eyes, he pulls up a chair at the table and immediately slumps into it, propping his chin in his hand.]

4 a few days later?

[asterflower]

[The afternoons have been hot and on top of that Shion hasn't been able to sleep well at all. Well... More like he hasn't at all or for only a few hours here and there at random times of the day. Ever since waking up from a dream that felt so real he swears it was-- he hasn't been able to get a proper wink.

So maybe a walk outside to get some fresh air will do him good. A chance to wander around the heavens and to admire the various structures and temples that litter the holy land. It's beautiful to Shion. Like something come to life out of something he's read.

His wanderings lead him to a temple that makes him stall at the sight of it. He looks up at it as a cool summer breeze goes by. He doesn't notice the tiny little brown mouse running up the steps to warn a certain god of a certain shinki nearby.

On a whim, Shion decides to start wandering the grounds to this temple. He's curious and hopes the owner doesn't mind someone on a self-guided tour.]

just putting this here for now, let me know if I need to change anything

[slylittlefoxrat]

[The temple isn't too grand, having only just arrived here and with only a few followers in comparison. But there is a small outdoor stage closer to the shrine's building and some art along the walls, depicting dance, song, and theatre.

As soon as Cravat showed up, crawling up to Nezumi's shoulder and cheeping his warning, Nezumi left the building to watch Shion from some trees.]

Does he usually visit other people's shrines?

[A quiet whisper to the mouse next to him. He heard a negative cheep as his answer. Once again, he sighed before he could stop himself. Then a small smirk graced his lips, even though he had mixed feelings on the fact that it was his shrine Shion decided to explore.]

I wonder what he'll think of the place.

[asterflower]

[He wanders through the grounds with a curious expression. The art along the walls is what catches his attention first. He walks over to place a gentle hand against the murals as he admires each one.

It reminds him of the Shakespeare books he's been reading. After finding an old copy of Hamlet, he couldn't stop seeking out more of them to read. The stories felt familiar in his hands as he read them just like some of these pieces of art do.

When he wanders close enough to see the stage Shion stops and admires it too. A small smile pulls his lips as he feels his heart do a strange little flutter. He puts his hand over his heart.]

I wonder why these things make me feel the way I do.

[Talking to no one in particular... Just musing the strange reality it is to be a shinki.]

[slylittlefoxrat]

[Nezumi, on the other hand, knows what that feeling in his chest is. This may not be his actual home, despite it supposedly being his 'temple', but it was still connected to him in some way. Seeing Shion admiring it...]

Tch.

[The noise is quiet. Shion probably didn't hear it. There were a lot of things he had guarded himself from. But back where they came from, Shion had wormed his way past all of them until he practically stopped fighting against it. Of course, by then...

But they were here now. An opportunity for a second chance. Shion didn't remember anything. What happened where they came from was proof enough that he needed to be guarded again, but he found that, against Shion, it was so much harder to put those walls back up once they were torn down.

He moved closer, making sure to make some shuffling sound, wondering what Shion would do. The last time they talked, he had mentioned not to let his guard down...]

2

[shiitan]

[Okay, seriously, what was all this stuff. This sort of technology seemed to be normal for everyone else, so he couldn't figure out why this was more his problem and not a problem that was common for shinki.

Yeah, that was one of the drawbacks of jumping forward 1000 years in time before dying. But anyway.

The batteries and other power supplies fascinated him, though. He'd only read enough about electricity to get an idea of the basic principles, and a battery being able to store that energy made him wonder. What if a battery could store mana in the same way? He held up his now-glowing hand to the large battery, which...shorted out and started giving off smoke basically immediately. Well then.]

It couldn't even take that much?

I loled at work!

[slylittlefoxrat]

[It seemed that despite the added abilities he'd gained on arriving here, he hadn't lost the ones he already had. He felt the prickling before it happened. If it was stronger, he would have left the building completely, but the sensation was light. Only a mild danger then.

He glanced around the store and instantly spotted the battery that started to smoke. It was being held by some guy with a glowing hand. What the hell? What was he doing to it? And in the middle of the store too, where a fire would ruin quite a few things. Things he needed.

He moved closer, though still kept a safe distance.]

Battery acid will eat right through your hand, magic or no magic.

[Maybe scaring the guy will work.]

Then my work here is done. o7

[shiitan]

[Wow. He didn't think it would take long to be spotted by a god or even another shinki, but this soon? Fixing a battery acid burn would take just a bit more effort than he was willing to do though, so he set the battery down, and the glowing went with it.]

What, are you worried?

[Maybe one day he would stop trying to provoke people on purpose, but today was not that day. Oh, and the odds of that day actually coming to pass were also incredibly low. But anyway.

It was probably worth noting that he had deliberately sidestepped that mention of magic despite knowing full well that he had been caught red-handed.]

[slylittlefoxrat]

[Having used it many times himself, Nezumi instantly recognized the deflection. That was okay though, he wasn't going to question it even though it did set him a bit on edge. All of this magic that seemed to be real here with no idea on just how strong it was for some people...

But he didn't show any of that, just shrugged casually at the guy's question.]

Just curious. Never thought I'd run into an experimenting masochist in the middle of an electronics store. Ah, but you put the battery down, so I guess you're not really.

2

[kokuyoyo]

[Nezumi isn't the only person going through cheap parts and equipment. Chikusa himself is carefully looking over the cameras, occasionally taking out his phone to see if there's any reviews or other such things for what he's looking at. Balancing price and quality is so tricky... Assuming he doesn't end up stealing anything, anyway.]

[After a while, however, he notices that the other guy near him is being just as ignored as he himself usually is. That's always the clearest indicator of one thing...]

[Putting one camera back, he adjusts his black and gray beanie.]

...Cameras?

[slylittlefoxrat]

[Nezumi glances over when he hears someone next to him speak. He might not have been the person the other guy was asking, but he's looking at him.

... People around here were definitely different than the ones where he was from. He was still trying to figure them out. It would be a lot easier once he has his mice.

He gave a nod.]

You too?

[It was a obvious conversation; the questions able to be answered from sight alone with no need to be voiced. It made Nezumi curious why this person decided to ask in the first place, but he'd go along with it for now.]

[kokuyoyo]

I don't trust the phones Heaven gives us.

[Enjoy that nice little bit of paranoia for the day, Nezumi.]

[...Alright, and he also wants to have cameras on hand for investigating the recent murders, but he's staying a lot more quiet on that. They haven't caught the killer yet, after all.]

Yours?

[slylittlefoxrat]

[It's not paranoia if there's a reason to be mistrustful, and Nezumi still doesn't believe everything he was told, even though some of what he was told has been proven true.

Nezumi just nods again at the reason why. When asked his own reason, Nezumi smirks.]

I'm a stalker.

[It's a lie and a rather obvious one at that, but maybe it'll stop the guy from delving further. A big reason the robot mice were so effective was because no one suspected them.]