thenearshore | 19 | Peaceful Departure

19 | Peaceful Departure

Who: Everyone!
What: Celebrating Obon
When: Evening August 10
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: Mortals may be partying, but there's lots of work for the denizens of the Far Shore to do.

It's the final day of Obon and spirits are being sent back to their homes -- both the ancestral spirits that have been welcomed home for the duration of the festival and the mischievous spirits that have been plaguing the Heavens. But some of them might not go easy, so Amaterasu has requested that gods and shinki old and new alike help ensure the spirits' peaceful departure.

Mukae-bi

Fires have been lit on hillsides and near cemeteries to lead the spirits back to their resting places and to protect them on their way, but angry ghosts and ayakashi are trying to quench the fires so they can attack weaker spirits. Keep the firewood stocked and the fires blazing high while you fight off the attacks.

Heavenly Exorcisms

Guarding the Gates

Hidden pathways into the underworld in caves throughout Japan are open from sunset to moonset on this night to allow the spirits who have temporarily left to return. Gods and shinki must watch over these pathways and ensure that no dangerous ayakashi take the opportunity to escape from the underworld before the moon sets.

After-party

After the moon sets, the denizens of the Heavens can finally kick back. Everyone is invited to a private hot spring on the Far Shore, where a midnight banquet spread is waiting in thanks for their hard work. Wash off any blight in the hot springs and enjoy the banquet before heading back home for a good night's sleep.

In Summary:

Keep the fires burning
Exorcise those annoying spirits
Fight powerful ayakashi
Enjoy a banquet
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Well, that settles that much, but it wasn't going to help Shizuo wondering about his place. Yet he knew he couldn't wonder where or even if there was a place he was in back then. ]

Yeah? What sort of favor is that supposed to be?

[ Because he certainly doesn't know you enough to know what to expect. ]

[ There’ a bit of a pause before Tatara answers that question, eyes closing at the behest of a sheepish expression. ]

Well, you see... I don’t think I can make it home on my own two feet, in the state I’m in.

[ Translation: He’s asking for a piggyback ride. Waif and lithe as he is, he doesn't weigh much, he promises! ]

[ Oh. Huh. Most people didn't expect him to be able to do that most of the time. Because Shizuo was far more lithe than his lookalike, unless they already knew about his strength, he wasn't exactly their first choice. ]

Yeah, I get what you're saying. Eat what you've got and then I'll get ya home.

[ Be able to do what? Carry him? Tatara’s not making any presumptions about Shizuo’s strength; not nearly. Rather, he’s banking on his own lightness -- the fact that he’s been thrown over shoulders and hauled away with relative ease for most of his adult life, able to be scooped up in one arm by Mikoto.

(Honestly, if he had any knowledge of this man’s strength, he might ask for a Princess Carry instead of a piggyback, as that’s far more comfortable. Be grateful for this ignorance, Shizuo.)

Anyway, with a nod, he gradually eats away all his various nibbles. Hopefully it’ll last him a while, since he’s not so confident about his ability to get out of bed tomorrow after all of this. He’s betting everything that hasn’t already caught up with him will make its arrival by then, and he’s not going to ask anyone to wait on him hand-and-foot. He’d sooner manage by himself.

Jeez. Rolling an eight with Sakon really was a double-edged sword, wasn’t it? He almost needs a hand getting back to his feet, even; but once he does, he’s all smiles again. ]

Ready when you are!

[ This’ll be interesting. ]

[ Funny enough, as the guy started to eat, Shizuo pulled out and lit a cigarette. While he didn't need to smoke, watching it drift through the air was... relaxing. Enough to be worth maneuvering around the fact that one of his arms was bound in a sling.

When Totsuka said he was ready, the blond tossed the cigarette into a stainless steel personal ash tray- one of those cylindrical cases that had a slide to manage the top. ]

Right. Then let's get you back.

[ He goes to kneel down with his back to the younger man. It won't be the most convenient, but Shizuo knew he could just hook his remaining arm back to support the god. Goddess. Whatever. ]

[ Tatara should, rightly, be in shock. They’ve only just barely met, and already this new stranger is now kneeling before him, waiting for him to climb on for a piggyback ride, just as requested. It has nothing to do with his status as a god, either; shinki aren’t liable to be loyal -- let alone kind -- to anyone but their own, after all.

So, Shizuo is simply a good person, then. That makes Tatara trust him all the more.

Carefully, he drapes himself over his best friend’s lookalike, arms around his neck. Indeed, this is where he and Izumo differ, and he can tell that now, though he makes no comment. Rather, he’s content to latch to the man with whatever strength his body has left to impart, quivery as his muscles are when asked to work. ]

Thanks for doing this, again.

[ Thanks for helping out a silly young god who got in over his head; though it wasn’t the first time, and it likely won’t be the last.

Once they’re moving, to keep conversation going, Tatara gently inquires. ]

What happened to your arm?

[ It's fine if Tatara's muscles are protesting the efforts right now. Though it's only one arm going to the back to provide the guy with support on staying in place, it's more than strong enough to handle his light amount of weight. ]

Don't mention it. You're gonna have to give me directions, though.

[ Ah, yes. The arm. ]

Ah... I was an idiot and let some people dislocate it in an attempt to force my god's hand. Didn't work, but that's probably for the best.

[ Because, like he said, he was an idiot. ]

[ One arm is more than sufficient -- especially given that, with how slender Shizuo is, Tatara might just be able to lock his legs at the ankles to steady himself, at the very least. He has zero shame about being a human backpack, at this point. ]

Force your god’s hand...?

[ He repeats the words in a sort of contemplative mumble, partly in disbelief. “Force”, meaning that, from the sound of it, he was tortured for the sake of someone getting something out of his god. Tatara’s expression tightens with worry at that knowledge. Who would do such a thing...?

He has to internally remind himself here that there’s still a killer on the loose. And if murder is possible, surely torture is far from off the table. ]

I’m sorry that happened to you. Does it hurt still?

[ He’s not especially great with it all just yet, but Tatara is a healer here, to some degree. (An unsurprising role for him, given his past life.) ]

I'm really an idiot, so when I accidentally caused my god blight, I tried pushing that so she'd remove my name. That way it wouldn't happen again.

[ It wasn't exactly torture, but this was clearly of his own doing. ]

Nah. I don't actually feel pain, so that was never a problem.

Aah, I see. [ It was his own doing. So, basically, he harmed himself in effort to manipulate his god into releasing him, in case he caused further blight.

...Honestly, that is pretty stupid. Stupid; and yet, Tatara can see the good intent in it and respects him for it. As if he needed further proof that Shizuo is a good man.

After all, even good men do really dumb things. Tatara would be the foremost authority on that. He smiles wryly. ]

Sounds like the two of you are pretty loyal to each other.

[ He's glad for it. Exhaling, he settles some and falls quiet until hearing that second bit of information. That's got him peering at Shizuo as best he can from over the man's shoulder. ]

Haaah? Seriously?!

[ No pain? He's got to be bluffing. ]

For better or worse, I guess.

[ The worse, obviously, being that he caused Yona another case of blight. To which he'd have to scold her for breaking that promise he pushed her into making. ]

The only time I've felt pain was when I was a kid or during my ablution. Everything else, while I sometimes can tell there's something happening, I don't know about any injuries unless I can see it or if something isn't working right.

[ Hence that sling. ]

[ Cue the lift of brows. ]

Your ablution?

[ Someone's been a bad, bad boy... ]

Why... what happened?

[ It's more that he considered himself to be very bad and has a very high guilt complex. ]

I, uh, made some bad decisions in how I reacted to a few things. After I was shown how it was causing blight, I tried using that to try and force my god's hand into releasing my name. Y'know, so she wouldn't have to worry about it happening again.

[ That's it in the tightest nutshell possible. ]

I was really being an idiot.

Aah, I see. [ He angles in his head some on Shizuo's shoulder. ] Lost your temper...?

[ That's his best guess; and his first grab for a conclusion, given the company he keeps. ~~Here's lookin' at you, Yata.~~ ]

That happened as well, yeah. It was... a bunch of things in a short time. Like deciding things that I had no place in, or using my own pathetic situation to push someone into confiding with me about theirs.

[ It's not even things that are that bad, but when you're someone with his ability of self-blame, it's dangerous. ]

I think the way you say that makes it sound worse than it actually was.

[ This is him speaking up for you, Shizuo. A vote of confidence.

A small pause. ]

...You're a complicated man, aren't you?

[ That's way more confidence than Shizuo has in himself, but that's what got him in that situation in the first place. ]

Nah, not really. I try to keep simple because it's easier that way. It's a lot less work that way, y'know?

[ ... Shizuo, no one that's decidedly simple actually is simple. It's how people know you're both smarter than you act and just as much of an idiot as you claim to be. ]

Aah, I think we all try.

[ But he's far from the type to pessimistically point out the reality here. ]

So your ablution was... recent?

Yeah. It was... a bit over a week ago at this point, I guess.

[ A week. Good heavens. The pain must still be fresh in memory, at that rate.

For that, among other things, Tatara gives Shizuo a sort of deliberate hug around the neck, which... might be hard to tell, given their current positioning. But it is very much both brief, and deliberate. ]

I'm glad it worked, in that case.

[ Everyone makes mistakes. Shinki make mistakes. Gods make mistakes. He hates the idea of anyone paying a finite price for an accident -- even if that's what he's done now, twice over. ]

[ Luckily only the emotional pain and humiliation stayed fresh. While the ablution struck deeper than something physical, that had also passed. Now... he was stuck.

As well as oblivious of the hug that was being given, due to his dulled sensation. ]

Yeah, it'd have sucked otherwise. Plus you'd have someone else getting you home.

Aah, and I would’ve missed my shot to meet my best friend’s twin brother! Wouldn’t want that, now would I? [ Tatara cheerily chirps. ]

But without your help I probably would have just slept where I was, and gone home when I was able.

[ There's something about a god calling you someone's twin brother that felt weird- not wrong or bad, but it was something they avoided calling each other or trying to confirm. For the obvious shinki reasons. ]

Yeah, well it's not good to just fall asleep wherever. Not like that.

[ Shizuo, you are literally the last person that should be saying that. You bask in the sun as a hobby, and do it in the park and at abandoned temples. ]

[ If Shizuo ever decided to ask, Tatara could and would easily confirm they're not, in fact, related. Not by blood, at least.

...But he'd be the last person to say that doesn't make them family, even looks aside. ]

Yeah, heh... that's what King said. It's not safe, with a killer lurking around.

[ If a shinki should ask anything like that, Tatara should know better than to confirm anything until they get their own memories about that.

'What King said' though- Shizuo has an idea of who this king is supposed to be. While not up for being likened to that guy in any way, this was pretty important. Because that was another point, not even taking health into consideration. ]

They're still trying to find that guy? Then yeah, that's even more reason to not be sleeping out in the open like that.

19 | Peaceful Departure

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

we can wrap here if you want?